US Army Helicopter Crash That Killed 67 Linked To Altimeter Discrepancy – NTSB Report

An investigation into the January 29 mid-air collision between a US Army Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger plane, which claimed 67 lives, has revealed a significant technical discrepancy in the helicopter’s altitude readings.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which held three days of hearings last week, disclosed that the Black Hawk’s radar and barometric altimeters were providing conflicting altitude data. This discrepancy may have played a critical role in the fatal crash.

The collision occurred as the Bombardier CRJ700, operated by an American Airlines subsidiary, approached Reagan National Airport from Wichita, Kansas, while the Army helicopter was on a training flight over the Potomac River. All passengers and crew aboard both aircraft perished, making it the deadliest US air disaster since the 2009 Buffalo crash that killed 49 people.

Flight recorder data examined by investigators showed an 80- to 130-foot difference between the helicopter’s two altitude displays during flight. Test flights using three helicopters from the same battalion revealed that once the rotors produced lift and thrust, the altimeter readings consistently dropped and remained lower than the true altitude.

“This is a significant discrepancy,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said. “There is a possibility that what the crew saw was very different from the actual altitude. A 100-foot difference is significant in this case.”

Investigators noted that in the Potomac River corridor, helicopters are required to maintain altitudes below 200 feet, leaving little margin for error.

Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control specialist Clark Allen told the hearing that adequate supervisory staff were on duty in the control tower the night of the accident.

The findings prompted calls for deeper examination of the Black Hawk’s altitude systems. President Donald Trump publicly criticised diversity hiring in aviation following the crash, though no evidence has linked staffing policies to the incident.

The NTSB has yet to issue its final report, which will determine whether the altimeter discrepancies directly contributed to the collision.