NTSB investigation reveals new details about Washington plane crash
The National Transportation Safety Board report explained that the helicopter in the Washington crash may have received bad data. In addition, it reported communication failures with the control tower.
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A report filed by the National Transportation Safety Board on Friday showed that the pilot and instructor of the helicopter involved in the crash with a plane in Washington in late January communicated different altitude data.
A Sikorsky Black Hawk military helicopter and a Bombardier CRJ700 operated by a subsidiary of American Airlines fell into the icy waters of the Potomac River bordering the US capital's Ronald Reagan Airport after colliding. A total of 67 people lost their lives in the crash.
Jennifer Homendy, director of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), explained that shortly before the collision, the helicopter pilot - who was conducting a night training flight - reported an altitude of 300 feet while his instructor pilot indicated 400 feet.
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The report is based on the last minutes of flight of both aircraft, according to data extracted from the black boxes.
In addition, AFP recalled, transmission problems between the helicopter and the control tower were mentioned.
In a recording of conversations coming from the air traffic control tower (ATC), released by the media just after the crash, you hear the instruction given to the helicopter to "pass behind the CRJ."
According to Homendy, that was not heard on the Black Hawk's voice recorder.
According to her, the airliner could hear all incoming and outgoing communications from the control tower with all other aircraft, while the helicopter could only follow those transmitted by the tower.
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