Black Hawk pilots may have missed important air traffic control directive before DC plane crash

( NYPost )

Black Hawk pilots may not have heard a critical directive from air traffic control to fly behind the American Airlines plane in the seconds before it collided with the jet, and may have had “bad data” on the altitude they were flying at, according to investigators.

Seventeen seconds before the deadly Jan. 29 crash, which killed all 67 people aboard both flights, the Black Hawk was directed to pass behind the passenger jet, National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said at a news conference.

“The portion of the transmission that stated ‘pass behind’ may not have been received by the Black Hawk crew,” Homendy explained.

The Black Hawk pilots likely “stepped on” the communication by pressing the mic in an attempt to communicate back to air traffic control.

The crew also may not have clearly heard that the American Airlines flight was “circling” in the DC airspace, investigators found.

The Black Hawk collided with Flight 5342, which was en route to Reagan National Airport from Wichita, Kansas, just before 9 p.m.

The fiery collision sent both aircraft plunging into the Potomac River, marking the deadliest US air disaster since 2001.

There was also an apparent discrepancy between two of the three Army pilots about what altitude they were flying at, according to investigators — and they were well above the 200-foot limit for that location.

At one point before the collision, the helicopter’s pilot announced that they were at 300 feet, but the instructor pilot was also heard saying the helicopter was at 400 feet, according to recordings.

At the time of the fiery crash, the Black Hawk was flying at 278 feet, Homedy said, adding, “That doesn’t mean that’s what the Black Hawk crew was seeing on the barometric altimeters in the cockpit.”

“We are looking at the possibility that there may be bad data,” she added.

Because of the conflicting data, she said the NTSB is not yet releasing altitude for the Black Hawk’s entire route.

Though the “on scene” phase of the investigation had been completed, studies are still underway to determine exactly what Black Hawk pilots saw ahead of the crash, officials explained.

The helicopter crew likely did not know that a crash was impending, Homendy said.

The pilot flying the helicopter was on a check flight and being tested on the use of night vision goggles. Investigators believe the crew was wearing the goggles throughout the flight.

If at any point they wanted to remove them, they would have had to have a discussion about it, which cockpit recordings do not indicate.

The pilot of the passenger plane may have attempted a last-second move to avoid the collision, the NTSB previously determined.