Researchers pointed out that the helicopter crew involved in the collision with an American Airlines plane near Ronald Reagan airport may not have heard the instructions of the air traffic controller.
The crew of helicopter that collided in the air with a plane by American Airlines near the Ronald Reagan National Airport of Washington DC may not have heard the instructions of the air traffic controller to pass behind the plane, the researchers indicated on Friday.
The president of the National Transport Security Board (NTSB), Jennifer Homendy, indicated that the recording of the Black Hawk helicopter cabin suggests that the crew may have overlooked the key instruction just before The collision of January 29, in which the 67 people died aboard the two aircraft.
Homendy explained that the helicopter made a verification flight that night when the pilot was being evaluated in the use of night vision glasses and in the application of instrumental flight rules. The researchers believe that the crew used night vision glasses during the entire flight.
The collision was the most fatal plane crash in the United States since 2001, when a JET crashed in a neighborhood in New York City just after takeoff, killing the 260 people on board and five more on land.
Homendy said the Black Hawk crew never heard the words “pass behind” during the controller transmission because the helicopter microphone key was pressured at that time.
At a time during the flight before the collision, the helicopter pilot reported that Black Hawk was 300 feet, but the instructor pilot said the helicopter was 400 feet, Homandy said.
“At this time we don't know why there was a discrepancy between the two,” said Homendy.