The crash between the American Airlines plane and the US Army Black Hawk helicopter is one of the deadliest US air collisions in recent years. Sadly, all of the people onboard the jet and the helicopter presumed dead.
The jet carried 64 people while the Black Hawk had three members of the military onboard at the time of the tragedy.
Daily Mail reports that the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that flight data recorder and black box from the DC aircraft crash contain altitude readings that could shed light on the cause of the accident.
The American Airlines Flight 5342 was cruising at about 325ft, with a 25ft margin of error on either side. Data from the control tower showed that the Black Hawk was flying at an altitude of about 200ft.
Experts have yet to clarify the roughly 100-foot discrepancy in altitude readings. If the crash occurred at the plane’s reported altitude, it would have been above the safe operating limit for helicopters in the area.
Currently, investigators are working to recover data from the helicopter’s black box, which was waterlogged after plunging into the icy waters of the Potomac River.
Hopefully, they would be able to reconcile the differences in the altitude.
NTSB investigator Brice Banning described the case as a “complex investigation” with many factors at play. “Our team is working hard to gather this data,” he stated.
He also revealed that the jet’s black box recordings captured the crew’s verbal reaction just before impact. As the plane began to pitch upward, “sounds of impact were audible about one second later, followed by the end of the recording,” Banning explained.
Meanwhile, President Trump shared his thoughts on the collision, claiming the helicopter was flying “too high” and “far above its 200-foot limit.” He added, “That’s not really too complicated to understand, is it???”
Please SHARE this article with your family and friends on Facebook.
