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Deadly DC crash: New Details released
The Army helicopter that crashed into an American Airlines jet in Washington, D.C. may not have heard important instructions from air traffic controllers, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The Army helicopter that crashed into an American Airlines jet in Washington, D.C. may not have heard important instructions from air traffic controllers, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The NTSB held a news conference on Friday about the Jan. 29 crash that killed 67 people.
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NTSB gives update on DC crash that killed 67: FULL
National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy shared new information about the crash involving an Army helicopter and American Airlines jet in Washington D.C. on Jan. 29. 67 people aboard the two aircrafts were killed.
NTSB on DC crash
What we know:
The NTSB says the Black Hawk helicopter was on check flight at the time of the crash.
A check flight is when a pilot is tested on the use of night-vision goggles and flying by instruments.
Homendy believes the pilots of the helicopter likely never removed the goggles, which would have restricted their field of vision.
What could be the most critical in the incident is part of a transmission from the control tower to the chopper that may not have been heard.
"That transmission was interrupted, it was stepped on," she said, leaving them unable to hear the words "pass behind the" because the helicopter’s microphone key was pressed at the same moment.
Investigators are also looking at the possibility of bad data in front of the pilots.
What they were reading may have been different than the information taken from the flight data recorder.
The NTSB says the crash happened at an altitude of about 325 feet, which was above the 200-foot limit for the area.
That helicopter equipped with a system called ADSB which automatically transmits precise position, altitude and other flight data to air traffic control in real time.
It was not transmitting.
What we don't know:
The NTSB investigation into the crash is still underway.
Among other things the investigation will look into the installation of the equipment and programming of the ADSB.
It will take more than a year to get the final NTSB report.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the NTSB and Associated Press.