With conspiracy theories regarding Wednesday’s fatal plane crash rife, a former Black Hawk helicopter crew chief has weighed in on the speculation.
X user Mark McEathron, who says he’s a former Army crew chief and flight instructor who retired in 2007, has shed some light on the incident in a lengthy tweet in which he refutes the many claims of the collision being planned.
In his tweet, McEathron insists that it is very difficult to see a Black Hawk even with night vision goggles, given that they are designed to be hard to see at night.
“I can tell you after doing this for hundreds of hours, even when you know EXACTLY where a Blackhawk is, and you have night vision goggles on, it is EXTREMELY hard to SEE the aircraft,” he writes. “These birds are designed to be hard to see at night.”
The former crew chief also suggested that, although it’s not supposed to happen, all three members in an airplane’s cockpit can have their attention on things inside of the plane instead of what’s outside.
“999 times out of 1000 aircraft incidents always come down to a series of pilot and crew errors. Humans are involved. They aren’t perfect,” he continued.
Former Black Hawk Helicopter Crew Chief Says There’s Nothing Suspicious About The Collision
McEathron knocked back the notion of the incident being suspicious, pointing out that folks who believe it wasn’t an accident have never been part of a flight crew and don’t know what they’re talking about.
“Anyone out there telling you that they find the aircraft collision to be suspect, have NEVER been in a flight crew and they have ZERO idea what they are talking about.”
The American Airlines flight had 64 passengers, and the Black Hawk helicopter had three soldiers on board.
Authorities say no one survived.
