The National Transport Security Committee (NTSB) is considering the possibility of a military helicopter crew that caused the multi -day -long manner to be based on “wrong data”.
NTSB President Jennifer Homendi said helicopters Black Hawk, who collided in the air with the passenger Bombardier CRJ700 of a subsidiary of United Airlines, wore nights.
The air crash, which killed 67 people, was the worst air tragedy in the US for 20 years. The helicopter and the plane fell on the Potomak River, near Ronald Reagan Airport.
The researchers found that there was a “deviation” for the amount of the helicopter flying, as the commander and the co-trainer gave him different evidence.
Homedy presented in detail, almost every second, the last moments of the helicopter and aircraft, based on data from flight and conversation recorders. Shortly before the crash, the helicopter commander, who was performing an educational, night flight, said he was at 300 feet, while the pilot-trainer said he was at 400 feet.
The recording from the black box
“None of the pilots made a comment on divergence. At this stage, we do not know why there was this divergence. It is something that the team of researchers analyzes, “he added, noting that the possibility of the pilots being incorrectly seen.
Homedy also referred to the helicopter communication problems with the control tower. In the recorded conversations by the control tower, the auditor sounds telling the helicopter to “pass behind the CRJ”. But the phrase “pass behind …” is not heard in Black Hawk’s voice recorder. The passenger aircraft could hear all the communications of the control tower with the other aircraft and helicopters flying in the area. But Black Hawk listened only to the broadcast of the control tower, that is, the “half talks” of the auditors with the other aircraft, he said.
The investigation at the scene of the accident has been completed and the NTSB has gathered all the necessary data, Homedi noted. The researchers will also focus on visibility because “we believe that the helicopter crew was wearing night binoculars probably throughout the flight”.
