WASHINGTON — The crew of the Military helicopter that collided in midair with an American Airways jet close to Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan Nationwide Airport could have had inaccurate altitude readings within the moments earlier than the crash, and in addition could not have heard directions from air visitors management to maneuver behind the airplane, investigators stated Friday.
Nationwide Transportation Security Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy informed reporters that the recording from the Black Hawk helicopter cockpit advised an incomplete radio transmission could have left the crew with out understanding the way it ought to shift place simply earlier than the Jan. 29 crash, through which all 67 aboard the 2 plane have been killed,
“That transmission was interrupted — it was stepped on,” she stated, leaving them unable to listen to the phrases “go behind the” as a result of the helicopter’s microphone key was pressed on the similar second.
Homendy stated the helicopter was on a “verify” flight that evening the place the pilot was present process an annual take a look at and a take a look at on utilizing evening imaginative and prescient goggles. Investigators imagine the crew was carrying evening imaginative and prescient goggles all through the flight.
It is going to take greater than a 12 months to get the ultimate NTSB report on the collision, and Homendy warned reporters that many points have been nonetheless being probed.
SEE ALSO: All main items of the airplane and helicopter from lethal DC midair collision recovered, NTSB says
“We’re solely a pair weeks out,” from the crash, she stated. “We’ve loads of work to do.”
The collision was the deadliest airplane crash within the U.S. since 2001, when a jet slammed right into a New York Metropolis neighborhood simply after takeoff, killing all 260 individuals on board and 5 extra on the bottom.
The collision probably occurred at an altitude of about 325 toes, investigators have stated, which might put the Black Hawk above its 200-foot restrict for that location.
Cockpit conversations a couple of minutes earlier than the crash indicated conflicting altitude information, Homendy stated, with the helicopter’s pilot calling out that they have been then at 300 toes, however the teacher pilot saying it was 400 toes, Homendy stated.
“Presently we do not know why there was a discrepancy between the 2,” she stated.
Virtually instantly after the crash, President Donald Trump publicly faulted the helicopter for flying too excessive. He additionally blamed federal variety and inclusion efforts, notably relating to air visitors controllers. When pressed by reporters, the president couldn’t again up these claims. A couple of days later, Trump positioned the blame on what he known as an “out of date” air visitors management system.
Sullivan reported from Minneapolis.
The video within the participant above is from an earlier report.
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