A chilling new report reveals that only seconds before the Black Hawk slammed into the American Airlines passenger plane, the pilot of the military chopper failed to execute a critical final command – a move that might have caused the tragic midair crash that killed 67 people in the skies over Washington, D.C.
A bombshell report published on April 27 by the New York Times details the moments before the air crash between a Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines Flight 5342 on January 29 – one of the deadliest U.S. plane crashes in more than two decades.
All passengers and crew members on the aircrafts – 67 people in total – were killed after the army chopper struck the plane midair.
‘System collapsed’
After digging into through dozens of reports and speaking with several aviation experts, the NYT suggests the tragic crash was not the consequence of just one “misstep,” or “even several missteps.”
The “system collapsed,” the publication writes.
“Multiple layers of safety precautions failed that night,” Katie Thomson, the Federal Aviation Administration’s deputy administrator under President Joe Biden, told the NYT.
Black Hawk crew
On January 29, Capt. Rebecca Lobach was being evaluated on a scenario that involved her swiftly flying members of congress or other senior government officials out of Washington, D.C. during an attack.
Lobach, in charge of communications, was seated in the front left seat of the Black Hawk, with Warrant Officer Andrew Loyd Eaves working the controls to her right.
Behind them was Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, who handled equipment and other technical issues.
Lobach, who joined the military in 2019, was the highest-ranking soldier on the flight but Eaves – acting as her flight instructor – had more experience flying.
Ignored instructions
According to reports, in the minutes leading up to the crash, Capt. Lobach had taken control of the chopper, that at the time was flying low over the scenic cherry blossom trees of Washington, D.C.
Cockpit voice recordings reveal that Lobach, 28, announced an altitude of 300 feet, while Eaves read out an altitude of 400 feet. For that area, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mandates an altitude of no higher than 300 feet.
The time between the statements made by Lobach and Eaves has not yet been revealed, but the NYT suggests “that it was no longer than 39 seconds.”
“Experienced helicopter pilots say that given the ease of mobility in a Black Hawk, the altitude could have changed in fractions of seconds,” the paper writes of the potentially significant discrepancy, which may also be the result of faulty altitude data.
About 8:44 p.m., the helicopter had reached 300 feet and “needed to descend” – an instruction the army flight instructor had to repeat.
Less than three minutes later, Lobach – allegedly ignoring the command – still had the chopper at above 200 feet – a dangerous level.
‘Circling’ passenger plane
Just as the chopper hit the skies above the cherry blossom trees, an air traffic controller at Ronald Reagan National Airport warned the Black Hawk of a regional passenger jet “circling” close by.
But investigators believe that during key moments, the helicopter pilots “stepped on” vital air traffic controller instructions – meaning one of the crew accidentally pressed the microphone key to speak just as the word “circling” came through.
When this happens, the pilot can speak but not hear incoming communications.
Linked to deadly crashes
Acknowledging the sighting and responding to the part of the message he did hear, Eaves radioed: “PAT two-five has traffic in sight. Request visual separation” – a practice where the pilot navigates around the other aircraft without the guidance of the air controller.
“Vis sep approved,” replied the controller, giving the Black Hawk the green light to make the move that “leaves even the most diligent pilot vulnerable to the threat of a midair collision with an unseen aircraft,” according to an National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) safety alert.
Explaining the risk, Jeff Guzzetti, a former accident investigator for both the FAA and the NTSB, told the NYT that the “see and avoid” system “has long been seen as a flawed concept but a necessary one.” It’s also “been linked to a number of deadly midair incidents throughout the years.”
Failed final command
When the copter and jet were about one mile from making contact, the controller told the army crew to “pass behind” – a message that might have been missed.
Only 15 seconds before it struck the passenger jet, Eaves can be heard on the cockpit recordings speaking with Lobach.
The NYT reports that he “He told her he believed that air traffic control wanted them to turn left, toward the east river bank.”
Turning left would have created more space between the aircrafts, but Lobach kept on the path towards the plane.
At 8:48 p.m., instead of seeing and avoiding, the Black Hawk slammed into the passenger carrier and lit up the sky, killing passengers and crew members on both aircrafts.
Officials said that investigations are ongoing.
“I think what we’ll find in the end is there were multiple things that, had any one of them changed, it could have well changed the outcome of that evening,” Brig. Gen. Matthew Braman, the Army’s director of aviation, said of the fatal crash.
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