"Missteps, Ignored Warning": What Led To Midair Collision Over Washington

Traffic control issues, an ignored warning and a pilot's error reportedly led to the midair collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines flight over the Potomac River near Washington, DC, in the United States that resulted in the deaths of 67 people in January. A passenger jet and a US Army helicopter collided at a low altitude near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and crashed into the Potomac River on January 29, killing all on board, including all three members of the chopper. It was one of the worst domestic crashes in the United States in nearly a quarter-century.

For months, scrutiny has focused on the altitude of the army chopper, which was directly in the path of the jet as it was landing. Now, a report by the New York Times revealed that not only was the Black Hawk flying too high, but in the final seconds before the crash, its pilot failed to heed a directive from her co-pilot, an Army flight instructor, to change course.

Communication Issues

The report also pointed towards some traffic control issues, as some crucial instructions from the control tower were "stepped on" by the helicopter crew-- meaning they potentially missed some critical incoming instructions when they pressed the microphone to speak. 

"You hear a command from air traffic control, and you repeat it back to clarify that you have indeed heard it," Dan Ronan, an aviation expert, told 7News. 

"But if another microphone gets keyed, and in a busy airspace like Washington, DS, it's not uncommon to have multiple, 7, 8, 9, aircraft on one frequency - someone keys that microphone, and the pilot of the Blackhawk apparently never heard the command from the air traffic controller because the mic or phone got keyed somewhere along the way," he explained. 

Ignored Warning

Technology on the high-tech chopper, which could have allowed controllers to better track the Black Hawk, was also turned off, the report found. However, it was reportedly part of Army protocol meant to allow the pilots to practice secretly whisking away a senior government official in an emergency. But some experts believe that turning off the system deprived everyone involved of another safeguard.

The NYT report also blamed the air traffic controller for not showing clarity or urgency in its communication with the army helicopter. It said that Captain Rebecca Lobach, who was piloting the Black Hawk, failed to follow her co-pilot and instructor Andrew Eaves's last-minute order to turn left in a bid to avoid the descending jet.

Pilot's Error

The crash has also put additional focus on a flying manoeuvre - known as visual separation - which was deployed by the chopper, which was on an army training mission to take government officials to safety in case of an attack. Visual separation is often seen as a technique used by small aircraft and choppers to evacuate top government officials in case of an emergency.

The report also revealed that shortly after the Black Hawk passed over Washington's most famous array of cherry trees, an air traffic controller at nearby Ronald Reagan National Airport had alerted the crew about the regional passenger jet in its vicinity-- an instruction which was acknowledged by the chopper crew.

Following this, the chopper crew asked for permission to employ a practice called "visual separation"-- which allows pilots to take control of navigating around other aircraft, rather than relying on the controller for guidance. But, the practice has its limitations, including poor visibility and a limited range of vision from the cockpit. 

The request was approved by the traffic controllers roughly two minutes before the crash, but the report revealed that the technique was not executed properly. After the visual separation was initiated, the radio communications between the pilots and the controller broke down.

Around 20 seconds before the crash, the air-traffic controller alerted the chopper about the approaching American Airlines jet, but they got no reply. The black Hawk and jet collided shortly after, resulting in one of the worst crashes in US aviation history.