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The crew of the Army helicopter that collided in midair with an American Airlines jet over Washington DC may have had inaccurate altitude readings in the moments before the crash and also may not have heard instructions from air traffic control to move behind the plane, investigators say.
National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy told reporters that the recording from the Black Hawk helicopter cockpit suggested an incomplete radio transmission may have left the crew without understanding how it should shift position just before the January 29 crash, in which all 67 aboard the two aircraft were killed.
"That transmission was interrupted -– it was stepped on," she said, leaving them unable to hear the words "pass behind the" because the helicopter's microphone key was pressed at the same moment.
Homendy said the helicopter was on a "check" flight that night where the pilot was undergoing an annual test and a test on using night vision goggles.
Investigators believe the crew was wearing night vision goggles throughout the flight.
It will take more than a year to get the final NTSB report on the collision, and Homendy warned reporters that many issues were still being probed.
National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy speaks during a news conference at NTSB headquarters (Source: Associated Press)
"We're only a couple weeks out," from the crash, she said. "We have a lot of work to do."
The collision was the deadliest plane crash in the US since 2001, when a jet slammed into a New York City neighbourhood just after takeoff, killing all 260 people on board and five more on the ground.
The collision likely occurred at an altitude of about 99m, investigators have said, which would put the Black Hawk above its 61m limit for that location.
Cockpit conversations a few minutes before the crash indicated conflicting altitude data, Homendy said, with the helicopter’s pilot calling out that they were then at 91m, but the instructor pilot saying it was 121m, Homendy said.
"At this time we don’t know why there was a discrepancy between the two," she said.
The news came as crews worked to try to recover the cockpit and other parts of the jetliner from the Potomac River.
World
Wed, Feb 5
6:14
In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy which killed all 67 on board two aircraft, the US president blamed it on diversity hiring programmes.
World
Fri, Feb 7
Investigators discussed the last moments from the jet's two black boxes, which captured sound in the cockpit and flight data.
World
Sun, Feb 2
6:14
Almost immediately after the crash, President Donald Trump publicly faulted the helicopter for flying too high. He also blamed federal diversity and inclusion efforts, particularly regarding air traffic controllers.
When pressed by reporters, the president could not back up those claims. A few days later, Trump placed the blame on what he called an "obsolete" air traffic control system.
