Preliminary flight data from the tragic airplane crash in Washington, D.C., presents conflicting information about the altitudes of a commercial jet and an Army helicopter that collided close to Reagan National Airport, resulting in the loss of all lives on both aircraft, as stated by investigators over the past weekend.
Information obtained from the flight recorder of the American Airlines flight indicated an altitude of 325 feet, give or take 25 feet, at the time of the collision on Wednesday night, according to reports from National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials during a briefing with journalists on Saturday. Conversely, data from the control tower indicated that the Black Hawk helicopter was at 200 feet, the maximum authorized altitude for helicopters in that airspace.
The roughly 100-foot altitude discrepancy in the data has yet to be explained.
Authorities are currently in the process of retrieving information from the helicopter’s rear box, which is proving to be more time-consuming due to having been submerged in the Potomac River and becoming waterlogged, in an effort to reconcile the discrepancy. Additionally, they mentioned plans to further analyze the tower’s data, which might be of a lower level of accuracy.
NTSB member Todd Inman expressed frustration to reporters, noting that the board has made “several hundred” recommendations to improve aviation safety that have not been acted upon.
“You want to do something about it? Adopt the recommendation of the NTSB. You’ll save lives,” he said, adding that he has spent hours with victims’ families since the crash. “I don’t want to have to meet with those parents like that again.”
An American Airlines jet passes as family members of the victims of a midair collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter stand at the end of runway 33 near the wreckage site in the Potomac River at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, on Sunday, Feb. 2, in Arlington, Virginia. (AP/Jose Luis Magana)
Families of victims visited the crash site on Sunday and divers scoured the submerged wreckage for more remains after authorities said they’ve recovered and identified 55 of the 67 people killed.
Officials said they are confident all the victims will be recovered from the chilly Potomac River.
NTSB investigators hope to have a preliminary report within 30 days, though a full investigation could take at least a year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
