WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — After a D.C.-bound American Airlines commercial regional jet crashed into an Army helicopter while attempting to land at Reagan National Airport, questions surrounding flight communications are among key details federal investigators will probe.
Thursday morning, President Donald Trump pointed fingers at possible human error among the Army helicopter crew which included three soldiers who died.
Hours later at a separate press conference, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said they would not speculate on the cause of the crash.
“It’s just a horrible, sinking feeling to know that it’s just a tragic outcome,” Michael Sagely, a longtime Blackhawk helicopter pilot, said.
Sagely, who previously flew missions along the Potomac River in the type of aircraft that crashed Wednesday said communications with air traffic controllers (ATC) are similar to processes for commercial pilots.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re military, you’re still required to communicate with ATC appropriately, and follow established routes and/or restrictions on those, and/or on any restrictions ATC provides on you,” Sagely said. “It’s not uncommon to have helicopters and commercial aircraft working in close proximity to each other.”
D.C.’s congested airspace, caused by frequent flights from Reagan National Airport and routine military mission flights is one of the busiest air spaces in the country.
Blackhawk helicopters can be seen routinely around D.C.’s military bases, including Fort Belvoir where Wednesday’s Army helicopter flight crew was based.
Initial reports indicated that the plane and helicopter collided between 300 and 350 feet above the ground. DC News Now has since learned that helicopters in the area where the crash occurred are not allowed to fly above 200 feet, something Sagely said can be permitted by ATC for several causes, including to avoid collisions.
Air traffic controllers attempted to notify the helicopter crew of the passenger jet and avoid it. It’s questionable if the pilot did see this specific plane before the crash, and if there was enough time to maneuver depending on conditions.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said a black box for the American Airlines flight was recovered Thursday, which will allow investigators to view critical in-flight records before the crash.
“It’s exact speed, altitude, heading, whether it’s climbing or descending,” Sagely said. “They’re definitely going to produce a better picture as time goes on, and that’s the one thing that’s kind of hard to to, is be patient.”
In a video posted to social media Thursday morning, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said night vision goggles were on board.
While it is unknown how night vision goggles may or may not have contributed to the crash, goggles can reportedly cause hurdles for people wearing them when facing bright lights, according to Sagely, and Darrell Feller, a retired U.S. Army National Guard pilot.
“[Night vision] goggles actually make it worse down there,” said Feller in an interview with the Associated Press about his experience flying near the Potomac River.
“It’s so bright still, a lot of times we would flip our goggles up going through that area,” Feller said.
Speaking about the “33” runway where the American flight was attempting to land, Feller said he had issues seeing a flight land there several years ago.
“I was flying south down the route at night, and there was a commercial jet landing on three-three, and I could not see him. I lost ‘em in the city lights there in Anacostia, around DCA. You just you can’t see ‘em.”
A preliminary report from the NTSB is due in 30 days.
