The National Transportation Safety Bureau (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy has suggested at her latest briefing that the Black Hawk helicopter crew may have missed a key instruction from air traffic controllers (ATC) before the crash with an American Eagle flight.
On February 14, 2025, Homendy said that 17 seconds before impact a message from ATC directing the Black Hawk crew to pass behind the PSA Airlines operated Bombardier CRJ700 was audible on both aircraft’s Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR).
However, CVR data from the helicopter indicated that the portion of the transmission that stated “pass behind the” may not have been received by the Black Hawk crew.
“That transmission was interrupted. It was stepped on,” said Homendy in reference to the Black Hawk crew keying the microphone for 0.8 seconds while trying to communicate with ATC.
A transmission telling the Black Hawk crew that the American Eagle flight was maneuvering to a different runway may also have been partially missed, according to the Associated Press.
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On February 14, 2025, Homendy said that 17 seconds before impact a message from ATC directing the Black Hawk crew to pass behind the PSA Airlines operated Bombardier CRJ700 was audible on both aircraft’s Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR).
However, CVR data from the helicopter indicated that the portion of the transmission that stated “pass behind the” may not have been received by the Black Hawk crew.
“That transmission was interrupted. It was stepped on,” said Homendy in reference to the Black Hawk crew keying the microphone for 0.8 seconds while trying to communicate with ATC.
A transmission telling the Black Hawk crew that the American Eagle flight was maneuvering to a different runway may also have been partially missed, according to the Associated Press.
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Black Hawk crew may have missed key order before DC crash
The NTSB has suggested that the Black Hawk crew may have missed a key instruction from air traffic controllers before the crash with an American Eagle flight.
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