United States officials have announced that the pilot who was flying the Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into American Airlines Flight 5342 last Wednesday made a mistake.
The Army helicopter had three soldiers on board while flying a route near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The unthinkable happened when it collided with the airplane, sending them both into the Potomac River below.
The AA flight was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, none of which survived.
Washington D.C. officials have since determined that the helicopter was flying too high, with the National Transportation Safety Board having determined that the military aircraft was around 100 feet higher than it should have been.
The crash happened at an altitude of 300-350 feet, but the helicopter wasn’t supposed to have gone higher than 200 feet.
As investigators search for the cause of America’s worst air disaster in nearly two decades, early flight data shows the U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter appeared to be flying at 350 feet, when it should have been under 200 feet. @GioBenitez has the latest. https://t.co/qsUdR1dfA0 pic.twitter.com/SCTN45rWkZ
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) January 31, 2025
