Chopper involved in Washington DC mid-air collision may have missed air traffic control instructions: Officials

Authorities investigating the Washington DC mid-air collision found out that the helicopter that collided in midair with an American Airlines jet near Ronald Reagan National Airport might not have heard instructions from the air traffic controller.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chair, Jennifer Homendy, told reporters that the recording from the Black Hawk helicopter cockpit suggested the crew may have missed the key instruction.

Just before the collision took place, the chopper was instructed to pass behind the plane it eventually crashed with. The tragic incident led to the death of all 67 people onboard the two aircraft.

Homendy told the media that the helicopter was on a check flight that night when the pilot was being tested on the use of night vision goggles and flying by instruments.

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The chopper crew was believed to be wearing night-vision goggles

The investigators believed that the crew was wearing night vision goggles throughout the flight. The collision was the deadliest plane crash the US has witnessed since the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

Homendy maintained that the Black Hawk crew never heard the words “pass behind the” during the transmission from the controller because the helicopter’s microphone key was depressed right then.

As per the official, at one point during the flight before the collision, the helicopter’s pilot called out that the Black Hawk was at 300ft – but the instructor pilot said the helicopter was at 400ft. “At this time we don’t know why there was a discrepancy between the two,” Homendy averred.

With inputs from the Associated Press.