Helicopter may have missed order to avoid fatal DC collision: NTSB

• The U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter crew may have missed instructions to pass behind an incoming jet, leading to the fatal collision. The orders came from air traffic control.

• The helicopter’s cockpit voice recorder data indicated possible missed transmissions and altitude discrepancies, with the transmission “stepped on” for 0.8 seconds.

• The final report on the collision, which claimed 67 lives, could take more than a year to conclude.

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National Transportation Safety Board officials say air traffic controllers told the operators of a U.S. Army Black Hawk Sikorsky H-60 helicopter to alter their path to make way for an incoming jet before the two aircraft struck. All 67 people involved in the collision perished.

The NTSB updated the public on Friday regarding their investigation into the deadly collision between a regional jet and a military helicopter. The collision happened over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29.

NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said flight recordings from the helicopter suggest the crew may have missed instruction from the tower to pass behind the jet as it approached the airport to land. 

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“(Cockpit voice recorder) data from the Black Hawk indicated that the portion of the transmission that stated ‘pass behind the’ may not have been received by the Black Hawk crew,” Homendy said.

The transmission was “stepped on,” Homendy said, for 0.8 seconds. They believe the helicopter’s microphone key was pressed for less than a second. Still, it was enough to miss that key instruction from the tower.

The portion of the transmissions stating the jet was circling may also not have been received by the Black Hawk crew, Homendy said.

There was also an issue with the helicopter’s altitude. Homendy said the pilot flying indicated they were at 300 feet. However, the instructor pilot said the altitude was 400 feet.

“That’s something that the investigative team is analyzing,” she said. 

The crash involved a PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 airplane that departed from Wichita, Kan., en route to Reagan. On board the aircraft were members of U.S. Figure Skating, including coaches as well as family members.

Homendy said the final report on the crash could take more than a year to conclude.