Investigators revealed on Friday the crew of the Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided in midair with an American Airlines jet near Ronald Regan National Airport in Washington, DC, last month may not have heard critical instructions from air traffic control prior to the fatal accident. NBC Washington reports a recording from the Black Hawk cockpit hints that the crew may have missed instructions to pass behind the plane before the Jan. 29 collision that killed all 67 people aboard the two aircraft.
National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said during a press conference there were two instances of the three-person helicopter crew not completely receiving transmissions in the moments before the crash. Per the New York Times, the air traffic controller told the Black Hawk to pass behind the jet that was just seconds from landing. But Homendy said the Army crew may not have heard the phrase "pass behind the" because the helicopter's microphone key was depressed for 0.8 seconds, which "stepped on" the transmission and made it inaudible to the crew.
But even before that, the crew may not have heard the controller tell them the American Airlines jet was circling to change runways before landing. Homendy said the word "circling" can be heard in a replay of the tower's communications, but that it isn't audible in the Black Hawk's cockpit voice recorder. There's also an indication the crew believed the controller told them to move toward the east bank of the Potomac River, but that's not what the controller said. This is especially important because the tower had been made aware that the two aircraft were already dangerously close to each other.
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There's also evidence the American Airlines crew saw the Black Hawk moments before impact because of last-second flight adjustments. "We see a pitch up of the aircraft," Homendy said. "So there was an indication that they may have seen something." And there's also confusion about the Black Hawk's altitude before the collision. The helicopter's co-pilot—who was on a training mission—said the Black Hawk was flying at 300 feet, but the instructor pilot said the craft was actually at 400 feet. "At this time, we don't know why there was a discrepancy between the two," Homendy said. (More Black Hawk stories.)
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