Washington DC Plane Crash Data Raises Questions

Initial findings from an investigation into Wednesday’s air crash in Washington D.C. that killed 67 people have raised further questions about how high the U.S. Army’s helicopter and the regional plane were flying at the time of the fatal collision.

Why It Matters

The collision between the American Airlines flight and the Black Hawk military helicopter on Wednesday was the deadliest incident for U.S. aviation in nearly a quarter of a century.

What To Know

American Airlines Flight 5342, traveling to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington D.C. from Wichita, Kansas, collided with the U.S. Army helicopter over the Potomac River shortly before 9 p.m. ET.

All 64 people onboard the jet and the three military personnel on the helicopter are presumed dead. Washington D.C. fire and emergency services said on Saturday that 42 bodies had been recovered, 38 of which had been identified.

Investigators said on Saturday evening that readings from the passenger jet at the time of impact showed it was flying at 325 feet, plus or minus 25.

The FBI recovered the voice recorder in the cockpit and the flight data recorder from the aircraft on Thursday.

However, a preliminary review of information seen by air traffic controllers in the tower at the airport showed the Black Hawk traveling at roughly 200 feet shortly before the accident, Todd Inman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigating the crash, said during a media briefing.

The discrepancy cannot yet be explained, he said.

President Donald Trump said on Friday that the “helicopter was flying too high, by a lot,” and had exceeded the 200-foot limit placed on such aircraft in the area around the airport. Some reports have suggested the Black Hawk was flying at up to 300 feet shortly before the collision.

The investigator said there had been “internal debate” over releasing details on the altitude data to the public, adding that teams looking into the crash were currently confident only about the data provided by the jet’s recorder.

“One part out of three pieces, we have defined,” Inman said. Investigators had received an initial set of information from the control tower, but had not yet verified the data, he said. So far, teams do not have any information from the Black Hawk.

Inman also said that shortly before the impact, the jet’s flight recorder showed a “slight change in pitch, an increase in pitch.”

“That is something that we will get you more detail on,” Inman said. It is not clear what this indicates.

Inman said the Black Hawk was flying a training mission that would need night-vision goggles, but investigators could not yet confirm whether they “were actively being worn, nor what the setting may be.” Teams are still looking into how, and whether, this influenced the accident.

Separately on Saturday, the U.S. Army confirmed the identity of the third person aboard the Black Hawk helicopter as Captain Rebecca M. Lobach, from Durham, North Carolina. She served as an army aviation officer as well as a White House aide, according to a statement from the military and Lobach’s family.

Who Said What

Inman told reporters on Saturday evening showed “at one point very close to the impact, there was a slight change in pitch, an increase in pitch [of the jet].”

Trump in a post to social media on Friday: “The Blackhawk helicopter was flying too high, by a lot. It was far above the 200-foot limit.”

What Happens Next

The NTSB said it will publish a preliminary report within 30 days of the accident, summing up the first phase of the investigation. A full report will be published between one and two years after the collision.