Army helicopter that crashed with commercial plane in DC was flying above altitude limit: NTSB

The Army helicopter that collided with a commercial plane over Washington D C in January had incorrect altitude readings which contributed to the aircraft getting too close according to National Transportation Safety Board NTSB findings The NTSB kicked off the first day of hearings in Washington on Wednesday to discuss the Jan crash between an American Airlines plane from Wichita Kansas and a Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport that left people dead Air traffic controllers reportedly warned about the hazards of helicopter traffic near the airport for years leading up to the crash but concerns raised about the Black Hawk helicopter's journey were not addressed The Federal Aviation Administration also allegedly did not make road changes or warn pilots despite near misses in the past three years at the airport It s so bureaucratic NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy announced during the hearing adding in part that people are so critical of the federal administration because you can t ensure safety NTSB LAUNCHES -DAY INVESTIGATIVE HEARING ON DEADLY DC PLANE CRASHArmy and FAA representatives attempted to point blame toward air traffic controllers and the lack of separation between planes landing at the airport and helicopters flying on approved routes but later implied that the routes weren't supposed to ensure separation The Army did acknowledge that Black Hawk altimeters may be more than feet off before adding that their pilots aim to maintain altitude within feet of a limit Lawyer Bob Clifford who is representing several sufferers families disclosed the hearing had a lot of finger-pointing and no acceptance of responsibility and accountability Though the final overview will not be disclosed until next year the hearing on Wednesday revealed how small the margin of error was for helicopters flying the trail that the Black Hawk took that night The flight statistics recorder revealed the helicopter was to feet higher than the barometric altimeter the pilots relied upon revealed they were flying investigators noted on Wednesday The NTSB conducted tests on three other helicopters from the same unit in a flight over the same area and ascertained similar discrepancies in their altimeters The bigger concern Army representatives stated is that there are chosen FAA-approved routes around the airport with separation distances as small as feet when planes are landing on a certain runway The fact that we have less than feet separation is a concern for me Scott Rosengren chief engineer in the office that manages the Army s utility helicopters mentioned during the hearing Rosengren declared that if he was king for a day he would forthwith retire all the older Black Hawk models like the one involved in the crash and replace them with newer versions During the two minutes before the crash an air traffic controller was directing airport traffic and helicopters in the area which included communications with several different aircraft on two different frequencies according to the NTSB's History of Flight Performance Assessment distributed on Wednesday The air traffic controller had communicated with the Black Hawk helicopter an airplane that was taking off an Air Force helicopter an airplane on the ground a therapeutic helicopter and an inbound airplane that was not the one involved in the crash All aircraft could hear the controller but helicopters could only hear other helicopters on their frequency and airplanes only other airplanes the assessment stated This resulted in a number of stepped-on transmissions as helicopters and airplanes were not aware when the other was communicating Stepped on transmissions refers to those that are unheard or blocked because of other transmissions The NTSB assessment includes a list of separate communications between the airport tower and other aircraft during the two minutes before the crash Previously disclosed air traffic control audio featured the helicopter pilot telling the air traffic controller twice that they had noticed the plane and would avoid it Agents on Wednesday also raised concerns about the use of night vision goggles on the helicopter as a factor in the crash as the goggles limit the field of view Investigations have previously shown that the FAA failed to recognize a history of near-misses around the airport in the three years before the collision and that the Army's helicopters routinely flew around Washington with a key piece of locating equipment known as ADS-B Out turned off Even if they had been turned on the ADS-B Out systems on greater part of the helicopters in the same unit as the one that crashed would not work because they had been installed incorrectly authorities declared on Wednesday When the NTSB learned of that obstacle the Army sent out an alert about it and worked to expeditiously reprogram the units to ensure they would work Homendy reported every sign was there that there was a safety peril and the tower was telling you that but after the case the FAA transferred managers out of the tower instead of admitting they had been warned Sen Ted Cruz R-Texas introduced decree on Tuesday to require all aircraft operators to use both forms of ADS-B the equipment to broadcast aircraft location figures to other planes and air traffic controllers Bulk aircraft in the present day are equipped with ADS-B Out equipment but airlines would need to add the more comprehensive ADS-B In device to their planes MISPLACED ANTENNA CAUSED MILITARY CONTROLLERS TO LOSE CONTACT WITH BLACK HAWK NEAR DCA REPORTThe bill would revoke an exemption on ADS-B transmission requests for Department of Defense aircraft Homendy reported her agency has been recommending a move like that for decades after several other crashes Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated he wants to discuss a limited tweaks but that the bill is the right approach He also stated that the Biden administration was asleep at the wheel amid dozens of near-misses over Washington The Associated Press contributed to this statement