Black Hawk helicopter involved in DC mid-air collision may not have heard key instruction, investigators say

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy stated yesterday that investigators believe the Army helicopter crew may have received inaccurate altitude readings and may not have heard a critical instruction from air traffic controllers to move behind the aircraft before an aerial collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines plane near Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.

Homendy revealed to reporters that cockpit recordings from the Black Hawk helicopter indicate the crew failed to comprehend how to adjust their position before the January 29th crash, possibly due to incomplete radio transmissions. The accident resulted in the deaths of all 67 people on board both aircraft. She noted that the transmission of the phrase "pass behind" was cut off because the helicopter's microphone key was pressed at the same moment.

The investigation also showed that the helicopter pilots may have missed another communication, where the tower informed the jet that it was being diverted to another runway. Homendy said that the helicopter was conducting a "check" flight that evening, and the pilots were undergoing annual testing and testing on the use of night vision goggles. Investigators believe the crew wore night vision goggles throughout the flight.

It will take more than a year for the NTSB to complete its final report on the crash, and Homendy reminded reporters that many questions remain under investigation. She stated that it has "only been a few weeks" since the crash, and there is still a lot of work to be done. This crash is the deadliest air accident in the United States since 2001, when a jet crashed into a New York City neighborhood shortly after takeoff, killing all 260 people on board and another 5 on the ground.

William Waldock, a professor of safety science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, stated that interrupted transmissions (i.e., pressing the microphone key, blocking incoming communications) are a well-known problem in aviation. "It's an old issue, and it's one of the common problems in radio communications," he said. However, it is not yet clear whether this contributed to the accident.

John Cox, CEO of aviation safety consulting firm Safety Operating Systems and a retired airline pilot, stated that the helicopter pilots had accepted responsibility for avoiding the aircraft two minutes earlier, when they requested and received permission to maintain "visual separation" from the jet, allowing them to fly closer than would have been permitted if the pilots had not seen the aircraft. "At that moment, the helicopter assumed the responsibility for separation, period. He accepted the responsibility to stay out of the way of the other airplane," Cox said.

If the helicopter pilots suspected they had missed any critical information from the tower, they could have requested a repeat. There were also serious questions about the helicopter's altimeters. The impact likely occurred at just under 91 meters, as the plane was descending toward the helicopter, while the helicopter was far above the 61-meter restriction for that location. Homendy said that cockpit conversations in the minutes before the crash indicated conflicting altitude data, with the helicopter pilots stating they were at 91 meters, but the instructor pilot stating they were at 122 meters. "We are investigating the possibility of erroneous data," she said.

That generation of Black Hawk helicopters typically has two types of altimeters - one that relies on air pressure and another that relies on radio frequency signals reflected from the ground. Helicopter pilots typically rely on air pressure readings when flying, but the helicopter's black box records its radio altitude. Homendy said that the radio altitude at the time of the impact showed the Black Hawk was at 85 meters. "But I want to caution everyone that does not mean that is what the Black Hawk crew was seeing on their pressure altimeter in the cockpit," she said.

Waldock stated that the helicopter pilots' night vision goggles would have interfered with their peripheral vision, and they may have mistakenly focused on an aircraft that had just taken off before the crash. "If they did lock onto that departing aircraft and thought that was the traffic they were supposed to avoid, then they didn't see the other aircraft coming," he said. Homendy said the jet also pitched up sharply in the last second before the impact. Both Waldock and Cox believe it was an obvious evasive maneuver by the American Airlines pilot. "It was a last-ditch effort," Waldock said.

The Army stated that the Black Hawk crew was experienced and accustomed to the crowded skies around the capital. The Army identified the crew as: Captain Rebecca Lobach, from Durham, North Carolina; Staff Sergeant Ryan Austin O'Hara, 28, from Lilburn, Georgia; and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Lloyd Yves, 39, from Great Mills, Maryland. O'Hara was the crew chief, and Yves and Lobach were the pilots. Lobach's friends and comrades described her as meticulous, "smart and fearless."

The American Airlines jet was taking off from Wichita, Kansas, preparing to land, and was piloted by Jonathan Campos, 34, whose relatives said he had dreamed of flying since he was a child. Passengers on the jet included a group of hunters, students and parents from a school in Northern Virginia, and members of the Skating Club of Boston. They were returning from an elite developmental training camp for young figure skaters after the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.

Shortly after the crash, President Donald Trump publicly blamed the helicopter for flying too high. He also blamed the federal government's efforts on diversity and inclusion, particularly in air traffic control. When pressed by reporters, the president could not support these claims. Days later, Trump blamed what he called the "outdated" air traffic control system.