Latest radar evidence suggests Black Hawk in DC disaster was flying too high, but NTSB wants more proof

Newly released data from ground-based radar came out Tuesday suggesting an Army helicopter was higher than it was supposed to be when it collided with American Airlines Flight 5342 a week ago, killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft.

Newly released data from ground-based radar came out Tuesday suggesting an Army helicopter was higher than it was supposed to be when it collided with American Airlines Flight 5342 a week ago, killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft. According to the “best quality flight track data” available, the helicopter was flying at about 300 feet at the time of the midair collision with the plane on its approach to Reagan National Airport outside Washington, DC, according to a statement Tuesday evening from the National Transportation Safety Board. “This data is rounded to the nearest 100 feet,” the agency said. The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, based at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, was flying a training mission in a dedicated helicopter route where it was not allowed to fly above 200 feet, according to a published FAA chart. Since the accident above the Potomac River, the Federal Aviation Administration has indefinitely suspended the use of most of those routes. Tuesday’s update from the NTSB doesn’t fully clarify an already murky situation. Although the air traffic control display at Reagan National should have shown the Black Hawk was flying at about 300 feet, the agency said it is continuing to collect data on its position, work that will not be finished until the helicopter wreckage can be pulled from the water. That is not expected to happen until next week. NTSB board member J. Todd Inman stated over the weekend the airport tower’s radar was showing the Black Hawk altitude at 200 feet with the Bombardier CRJ700 jet’s flight data recorder reading 325 feet, a discrepancy that investigators could not immediately explain. The NTSB canceled previously announced news briefings on their investigation on Monday and Tuesday and has not made officials available for questions on the Tuesday evening update.