FILE PHOTO: A crane retrieves part of the helicopter from the Potomac River, in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the river, by the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., February 6, 2025. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Transportation safety officials on Friday said they believe the crew of an Army Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into a passenger jet outside Washington, D.C., last month were wearing night vision goggles and possibly relying on inaccurate flight data moments before the fatal collision.
Preliminary analysis of voice recordings and other black box data recovered from the crash site showed the helicopter pilot and her instructor read aloud conflicting altitudes before the collision, while some of the Black Hawk's altitude data appeared to investigators as faulty, National Transportation Safety Board officials said.
