Black Hawk pilots might not have heard a essential directive from air site visitors management to fly behind the American Airways airplane within the seconds earlier than it collided with the jet, the Nationwide Transportation Security Board mentioned Friday.
Seventeen seconds earlier than the lethal Jan. 29 crash, which killed all 67 folks aboard each flights, the Black Hawk was directed to move behind the passenger jet, NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy mentioned at a information convention.
“They may have not received the ‘pass behind the’ because they were communicating with air traffic control,” Homendy defined.
The Black Hawk pilots doubtless “stepped on” the communication by urgent the mic in an try to speak again to air site visitors management.
There was additionally an obvious discrepancy between two of the Military pilots about what altitude they had been flying at, in accordance with investigators.
At one level earlier than the collision, the helicopter’s pilot introduced that it was at 300 ft, however the teacher pilot mentioned the helicopter was at 400 ft, Homendy mentioned.
