The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to give an update on the midair collision over Washington, D.C. that killed dozens of people in January.
The collision between a military helicopter and an American Airlines plane left 67 people dead. It was the first major commercial airline crash in the United States since 2009. The American Airlines flight, which was coming from Wichita, Kansas, was preparing to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The Army Black Hawk helicopter was on a training mission. Both fell into the Potomac River after the collision.
Federal investigators have been working to piece together the events that led to the crash. Investigator in charge Brice Banning previously described it as “a complex investigation” with “a lot of pieces” that NTSB members were working to gather.
Reuters/Eduardo Munoz
Wreckage from the plane and helicopter has been recovered. Investigators also recovered black boxes from both aircraft. Black boxes record flight data, including altitude and speed, as well as audio from the flight.
Investigators said in mid-February that it’s possible the helicopter crew did not hear instructions from an air traffic controller to pass behind the plane. Seventeen seconds before the collision, a radio transmission from the air traffic control tower directed the helicopter to pass behind the airliner, but because the helicopter’s microphone key was pressed down during part of the transmission, they may have not heard the words “pass behind the,” NTSB chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said.
The NTSB has determined that the collision likely occurred at an altitude of about 325 feet, which would have put the Black Hawk above its 200-foot limit for the area. Cockpit conversations from a few minutes before the crash indicate conflicting altitude data. The type of Black Hawk helicopter involved in the crash typically has two systems for measuring altitude, which may explain the discrepancy.
Investigators believe that the helicopter crew, who the Army has described as highly experienced, were wearing night-vision goggles at the time of the incident.
Full NTSB investigations typically take at least a year.
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