Black Hawk pilot missed instructions before DC crash: reports
(NewsNation) — New details suggest missed instructions played a role in the January mid-air collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger jet in Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people.
A new report from the New York Times reveals the pilot aboard the Black Hawk failed to heed a flight instructor's warning seconds before the crash.
It appears multiple safety precautions failed the night of the crash, and the discussion about the crash has largely centered around the height of the helicopter.
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The new reporting also indicates that pilot Rebecca Lobach missed an order from her co-pilot and flight instructor Andrew Eaves, who was overseeing the training mission.
The order would have changed the course of the helicopter to avoid the oncoming American Airlines jet.
The pilots also missed key information when they stepped on instructions from flight control, meaning they talked over instructions from air traffic control. That meant they didn't hear directives from the tower that the plane was circling.
In audio that was recorded 20 seconds from the crash, the tower asked the Black Hawk if they had the plane in sight and told them to pass behind the plane. The helicopter pilot requests visual separation to use their own visuals instead of direction from the tower.
The tower approved visual separation, but it was too late. Seconds later, you can hear commotion in the tower, and then you can hear the reaction to the impact.
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The National Transportation Board has corroborated some of this. In February, they said the Black Hawk may not have heard the command because they had stopped on the audio where air traffic control told the Black Hawk helicopter twice that the plane was changing runways, was circling and would be landing.
'A radio transmission from the tower was audible on the CRJ CVR, informing the Black Hawk that traffic just south of the Wilson Bridge was a CRJ at 1200 feet, circling to runway three. CVR data from the Black Hawk indicated that the portion of the transmission stating the CRJ was circling may not have been received by the Black Hawk Crew,' NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said. 'We hear the word circling in ATC communications, but we do not hear the word circling on the CVR of the Black Hawk.'
All of which adds to the complicated picture of what happened that night.
'The Army continues to participate in the NTSB investigation and looks forward to opportunities to implement the report's recommendations,' a spokesperson from the Army told NewsNation. 'We are committed to ensuring the safety of air operations anywhere we operate and will continue to comply with FAA requirements and restrictions to enhance flight safety while supporting mission readiness.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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