Investigators on Friday said that the crew of a Black Hawk helicopter which collided with an American Airlines jet in mid-air over Washington D.C. may not have heard an air traffic controller’s instructions to pass behind the aircraft.
Jennifer Homendy, Chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said that a recording taken from the helicopter’s cockpit suggested the crew might have missed a key instruction right before the collision on Jan. 29, in which killed all 67 people aboard both aircraft.
Homendy stated that the helicopter was in a test flight on this night, when the pilots were being tested for the use of night-vision goggles as well as flying by instruments. Investigators believe that the crew wore night vision goggles during the entire flight.
This was the most deadly plane crash that occurred in the U.S. Since 2001, when all 260 passengers on board the jet and five others on the ground were killed.
Homendy says that the Black Hawk crew did not hear the words “pass behind” when the controller transmitted the message because the helicopter’s mic key was pressed at the time.
Homendy stated that at one point, during the flight prior to the collision, Homendy’s instructor pilot reported the helicopter at 400 feet while the Black Hawk pilot had said it was at 300 feet.
Homendy stated that “at this time, we do not know why there is a discrepancy in the two.”
This is an urgent news story. Updates will be posted.
