The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has disclosed that the Black Hawk pilots involved in the devastating collision with an American Airlines flight on January 29 might have missed critical air traffic directives.
The tragic midair collision over the Potomac River on January 29, 2025, involved a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet, resulting in the loss of all 67 individuals aboard both aircraft.
The Black Hawk helicopter was operated by a crew of three Army personnel:
-
Captain Rebecca M. Lobach, 28, from Durham, North Carolina, served as the pilot undergoing her annual night flying evaluation. Lobach, who had over 450 hours of flying experience, recently served as a military social aide at the Biden White House. It took the US Army and Rebecca’s family three days to scrub her social media accounts.
-
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, from Brooksville, Mississippi, functioned as the evaluator and pilot monitoring during the flight. He was responsible for communications with air traffic controllers. Eaves was a seasoned aviation officer with a commendable service record.
-
Staff Sergeant Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, from Lilburn, Georgia, served as the crew chief and in-flight aircraft maintenance technician.
According to NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy, the Black Hawk helicopter was possibly flying based on “bad data” concerning its altitude, which led to the collision with Flight 5342 over the Potomac River.
The helicopter was reported to be flying at 278 feet at the time of the crash, significantly above the 200-foot altitude limit for that specific airspace.
The discrepancies in altitude readings between what was recorded and what the pilots believed they were flying at are alarming, with one pilot reporting 300 feet and another claiming 400 feet.
Just 17 seconds before the fatal impact, a directive from air traffic control to “pass behind” the commercial jet might not have been fully received by the Black Hawk crew, possibly due to a communication overlap where the pilots inadvertently “stepped on” the transmission.
The Black Hawk pilots might have accidentally overridden the communication by pressing their microphone key while responding to the control tower.
Jennifer Homendy:
“At 8:47:42, or 17 seconds before impact, a radio transmission from the tower was audible on both CVRs, directing the Black Hawk to pass behind the CRJ. CVR data from the Black Hawk indicated that the portion of the transmission stating ‘Pass behind the’ may not have been received by the Black Hawk crew.The transmission was stepped on by a 0.8 second mic key from the Black Hawk. The Black Hawk was keying the mic to communicate with ATC.
In response, at 8:47:44, the Black Hawk crew indicated that traffic was in sight and requested visual separation, which was approved by DCA Tower.
The instructor pilot then told the pilot flying, they believed ATC was asking for the helicopter to move left toward the east bank of the Potomac. At 8:47:52, or seven seconds before impact, the CRJ rolled out on final for runway 33.
The CRJ was at a radio altitude of 344 feet, traveling at 143 knots. At 8:47:58, or one second before impact, the CRJ began to increase its pitch, reaching about nine degrees nose up at the time of collision. FDR data show the CRJ elevators were deflected near their maximum nose-up travel.
The last radio altitude recorded for the CRJ was 313 feet and was recorded 2 seconds prior to the collision. The CRJ pitch at this time was again 9 degrees nose up, and roll was 11 degrees left wing down. The CRJ was descending at 448 feet per minute.
The radio altitude of the Black Hawk at the time of the collision was 278 feet and had been steady for the previous five seconds. The Black Hawk pitch at the time of the collision was about a half degree nose up with a left roll of 1.6 degrees.
Now, examination of the wreckage will assist in determination of the exact angle of the collision. Now, we’re confident with the radio altitude of the Black Hawk at the time of the collision, which was 278 feet.
But I want to caution that does not mean that’s what the Black Hawk was seeing on the barometric altimeter in the cockpit. We are seeing conflicting information in the data, which is why we aren’t releasing altitude for the Black Hawk’s entire route.”
WATCH:
JUST IN: Radio transmission to the Black Hawk helicopter may have been “interrupted” moments before it collided with the American Airlines flight carrying over 60 people.
NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy says there is conflicting information regarding the Black Hawk’s altitude.
The… pic.twitter.com/kJ1yd7Hlm3
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 15, 2025
The post Black Hawk Pilots May Have Missed Air Traffic Directive and Flown on ‘Bad’ Altitude Data appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.