Black Hawk crew may have missed key ATC instruction before Washington DC crash 

The National Transportation Safety Bureau (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy has suggested at her latest briefing that the Black Hawk helicopter crew may have missed a key instruction from air traffic controllers (ATC) before the crash with an American Eagle flight.  

On February 14, 2025, Homendy said that 17 seconds before impact a message from ATC directing the Black Hawk crew to pass behind the PSA Airlines operated Bombardier CRJ700 was audible on both aircraft’s Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR). 

However, CVR data from the helicopter indicated that the portion of the transmission that stated “pass behind the” may not have been received by the Black Hawk crew. 

“That transmission was interrupted. It was stepped on,” said Homendy in reference to the Black Hawk crew keying the microphone for 0.8 seconds while trying to communicate with ATC. 

A transmission telling the Black Hawk crew that the American Eagle flight was maneuvering to a different runway may also have been partially missed, according to the Associated Press.  

Homendy also said the Black Hawk was conducting a ‘check ride’ at the time of the crash. The check ride is an exam that a pilot must pass to undertake certain flight duties.  

The Black Hawk pilot was participating in a combined annual and night visual goggles check ride before impact, leading to the NTSB to believe that the crew were “likely wearing” the device. 

“Additionally, had they been removed the crew was required to have a discussion about going ‘unaided’. There is no evidence on the CVR of such a discussion,” the NTSB said.  

The US Army has previously described the Black Hawk crew as highly experienced. 

Altitude discrepancies 

Another aspect of the Black Hawk flight that Homendy discussed were discrepancies with the helicopter’s altitude discussed by crew members. 

Around four minutes before the crash the Black Hawk pilot indicated they were flying at 300 feet while the instructor pilot said they were at 400 feet. 

The NTSB said neither pilot discussed the discrepancy, and investigators are still trying to determine why there was conflicting data reported.  

“We are looking at the possibility there may be bad data,” said Homendy. 

The NTSB said it was confident that the radio altitude of the Black Hawk at the time of collision was 278 feet – higher than the 200 feet limit for that area.  

“I want to caution that this does not mean this is what the Black Hawk crew were seeing on the barometric altimeters in the cockpit,” said Homendy.  

Due to the conflicting data the NTSB said that it is not currently releasing altitude for the Black Hawk’s route.  

In relation to the American Eagle aircraft, Homendy said that the last radio altitude recorded was at 313 feet.  

One second before the crash the aircraft began to increase its pitch reaching about nine degrees up.  

There were 60 passengers and four aircraft crew on board the American Eagle flight and three US Army soldiers on the Black Hawk helicopter when they crashed on January 29, 2025. There were no survivors. 

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