Ignoring instructor, Army pilot's risky move led to deadly Washington crash: Report
A risky flying manoeuvre, a series of miscommunications, and ignoring her co-pilot's warnings led to the Black Hawk helicopter crashing into an American Airlines flight over the Potomac River in the US - resulting in the deaths of 67 people aboard, including all three members of the chopper - according to a report by The New York Times.The helicopter was flying at 278 feet, way above its permissible limit of 200 feet, while the plane - flying at an altitude of 313 feet - was heading towards runway 33 at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia when they collided mid-air at an altitude of about 300 feet at 8:48 pm (local time) on January 29, 2025.advertisement'Not only was the Black Hawk flying too high, but in the final seconds before the crash, its pilot failed to heed a directive from her co-pilot, an Army flight instructor, to change course,' read the NYT report.
The report further blames the air traffic controller for lacking both clarity and urgency in its communication with the chopper.Captain Rebecca Lobach failed to follow her co-pilot and instructor Andrew Eaves's order to turn left in a bid to avoid the descending aircraft, ignoring his instructions just 15 seconds before the crash.The crash has also put additional focus on a flying manoeuvre - known as visual separation - which was deployed by the chopper, which was on an army training mission to take government officials to safety in case of an attack. Visual separation is often seen as a technique used by small aircraft and choppers to evacuate top government officials in case of an emergency.advertisementAs per the report, the visual separation technique was not executed properly. In visual separation, the pilot assumes the responsibility of detecting and steering clear of nearby air traffic rather than only depending on radar separation using radar surveillance - which is used to maintain a safe distance between aircrafts in a bid to avoid any collision.The practice has its limitations - poor visibility and limited range of vision from the cockpit, among others. Hence, it is allowed only under controlled conditions.In air traffic control, visual separation means that air traffic controllers use the fact that pilots can see each other and their own aircraft to ensure that they are kept apart, rather than relying solely on radar separation. This method is used in controlled airspace, especially during approaches and departures, when visual separation is deemed safe.Roughly two minutes before the crash, the air traffic controller had given the chopper permission for visual separation. From that moment on, the chopper had to rely more on its own visuals than on air control's instructions to avoid any collisions.According to the report, the radio communications between the pilots and the controller broke down.20 seconds before the crash, the air-traffic controller asked if the chopper had spotted the American Airlines approaching.advertisementThat was the last recorded communication between the chopper and the air-traffic controller.The chopper and the aircraft collided shortly after, resulting in one of the worst crashes in US aviation history.
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Time of India
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- Time of India
'Went missing for 20 seconds': US Army on Black Hawk helicopter which lost contact with air traffic, caused commercial jets to abort landings
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Hindustan Times
24-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
US Pentagon lost contact with helicopter causing jets to nix DC airport landing
Military air traffic controllers lost contact with an Army helicopter for about 20 seconds as it neared the Pentagon on the flight that caused two commercial jets to abort their landings this month at a Washington airport, the Army told The Associated Press on Friday. The aborted landings on May 1 added to general unease about continued close calls between government helicopters and commercial airplanes near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport following a deadly midair collision in January between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter that killed 67 people. Also Read: Another close call at Reagan Airport: Plane carrying lawmakers struck by aircraft| Video In March, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that helicopters would be permanently restricted from flying on the same route where the collision occurred. After the May 1 incident, the Army paused all flights into and out of the Pentagon as it works with the FAA to address safety issues. Brig. Gen. Matthew Braman, the head of Army aviation, told the AP in an exclusive interview that the controllers lost contact with the Black Hawk because a temporary control tower antenna was not set up in a location where it would be able to maintain contact with the helicopter as it flew low and rounded the Pentagon to land. He said the antenna was set up during construction of a new control tower and has now been moved to the roof of the Pentagon. Also Read: Who is Lue Elizondo? The ex-Pentagon official behind the controversial '1,000-foot UFO' photo Braman said federal air traffic controllers inside the Washington airport also didn't have a good fix on the location of the helicopter. The Black Hawk was transmitting data that should have given controllers its precise location, but Braman said FAA officials told him in meetings last week that the data the controllers were getting from multiple feeds and sensors was inconclusive, with some of it deviating by as much as three-quarters of a mile. 'It certainly led to confusion of air traffic control of where they were,' Braman said. Former FAA and NTSB crash investigator Jeff Guzzetti said he thinks the air traffic controller did the right thing by ordering the two planes to go around that day. Also Read: Who is Jo Ellis? Trans Black Hawk pilot wrongly named in crash breaks silence; 'I don't deserve this' 'The Army, to me, seems to be attempting to sidestep some of their responsibility here. And it just sounds like excuses to say 'Hey, we had our ADS-B on and that should have been enough for them to see where we were.' That sounds too simplistic to me,' Guzzetti said. The FAA declined to comment on whether its controllers could not get a good fix on the Black Hawk's location due to their own equipment issues, citing the ongoing investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is pushing to have the agency modernize its air traffic control systems and equipment, which has failed controllers responsible for Newark Liberty Internal Airport's airspace at critical moments in recent weeks. In the initial reporting on the aborted landings, an FAA official suggested the Army helicopter was on a 'scenic route.' But the ADS-B-Out data, which the Army shared with the AP on Friday, shows the crew hewed closely to its approved flight path — directly up the I-395 highway corridor, which is called Route 5, then rounding the Pentagon. FAA air traffic controllers at the airport aborted the landing of a Delta Air Lines Airbus A319 during the Black Hawk's initial flight toward the Pentagon because they realized both aircraft would be nearing the Pentagon around the same time, Braman said. Because of the 20-second loss of contact, the Pentagon's tower did not clear the Black Hawk to land, so the helicopter circled the Pentagon a second time. That's when air traffic controllers at the airport decided to abort the landing of a second jet, a Republic Airways Embraer E170, because they did not have a confident fix on the Black Hawk's location, Braman said.
Indian Express
23-05-2025
- Indian Express
Pentagon lost contact with Army helicopter on flight that caused jets to nix landings at DC airport
Military air traffic controllers lost contact with an Army helicopter for about 20 seconds as it neared the Pentagon on the flight that caused two commercial jets to abort their landings this month at a Washington airport, the Army told The Associated Press on Friday. The aborted landings on May 1 added to general unease about continued close calls between government helicopters and commercial airplanes near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport following a deadly midair collision in January between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter that killed 67 people. In March, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that helicopters would be permanently restricted from flying on the same route where the collision occurred. After the May 1 incident, the Army paused all flights into and out of the Pentagon as it works with the FAA to address safety issues. Brig. Gen. Matthew Braman, the head of Army aviation, told the AP in an exclusive interview that the controllers lost contact with the Black Hawk because a temporary control tower antenna was not set up in a location where it would be able to maintain contact with the helicopter as it flew low and rounded the Pentagon to land. He said the antenna was set up during construction of a new control tower and has now been moved to the roof of the Pentagon. Braman said federal air traffic controllers inside the Washington airport also didn't have a good fix on the location of the helicopter. The Black Hawk was transmitting data that should have given controllers its precise location, but Braman said FAA officials told him in meetings last week that the data the controllers were getting from multiple feeds and sensors was inconclusive, with some of it deviating by as much as three-quarters of a mile. 'It certainly led to confusion of air traffic control of where they were,' Braman said. The FAA declined to comment on whether its controllers could not get a good fix on the Black Hawk's location due to their own equipment issues, citing the ongoing crash investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is pushing to have the agency modernize its air traffic control systems and equipment, which has failed controllers responsible for Newark Liberty Internal Airport's airspace at critical moments in recent weeks. In the initial reporting on the aborted landings, an FAA official suggested the Army helicopter was on a 'scenic route.' But the ADSB-Out data , which the Army shared with the AP on Friday, shows the crew hewed closely to its approved flight path — directly up the I-395 highway corridor, which is called Route 5, then rounding the Pentagon. FAA air traffic controllers at the airport aborted the landing of a Delta Air Lines Airbus A319 during the Black Hawk's initial flight toward the Pentagon because they realized both aircraft would be nearing the Pentagon around the same time, Braman said. Because of the 20-second loss of contact, the Pentagon's tower did not clear the Black Hawk to land, so the helicopter circled the Pentagon a second time. That's when air traffic controllers at the airport decided to abort the landing of a second jet, a Republic Airways Embraer E170, because they did not have a confident fix on the Black Hawk's location, Braman said.
