Second-by-Second Timeline of D.C. Plane Crash Revealed, Questions Remain About What Helicopter Pilots Heard and Saw

Mar. 15, 2025

Investigators are releasing new details about what happened in the seconds leading up to the deadlyD.C. plane crash— and say that the Black Hawk helicopter crew may have missed instructions from air traffic control and might have been operating with “bad data” about their altitude.

In a media briefing on Friday, Feb. 14, National Transportation Safety Board Chairperson Jennifer Homendy said that the Black Hawk helicopter crew, who were on a training flight, were likelywearing night vision goggles.

Homendy explained that had the crew removed them, they would have been “required to have a discussion about going ‘unaided,’ " and there is no recorded evidence that any discussion took place.

According to thetimeline they presented, Homendy noted that an “altitude discrepancy” for the Black Hawk was noted around 8:43 p.m. local time, shortly after the American Airlines jet was asked to switch runways.

The pilot flying the helicopter said they were at 300 feet, while the instructor pilot indicated they were at 400 feet, according to Homendy, who noted that “neither pilot made a comment discussing an altitude discrepancy” and that investigators cannot yet explain the differing numbers. About a minute later, the instructor pilot said they were at “300 feet descending to 200 feet.”

32 seconds before impact, the helicopter passed the southern tip of Hains Point. A second later, Flight 5342 began to roll left to turn to final approach on Runway 33.

Just 20 seconds before impact, a radio transmission from the tower was audible on both cockpit voice recorders asking the Army crew if the plane was in sight. A “conflict alert” could be heard in the background of the control tower radio transmission.

In response, the helicopter indicated that “traffic was in sight and requested visual separation, which was approved.“The instructor pilot then told the pilot flying they believed they were being asked to move left, towards the east bank of the Potomac River, according to the official.

Investigators say they are confident that at the time of the crash, the radio altitude of the Black Hawk helicopter was 278 feet, but Homedy stressed that “does not mean that’s what the Black Hawk crew was seeing.”

“We are seeing conflicting information in the data,” she added, later noting that the NTSB is looking into the “possibility” that they may have had “bad data” about the altitude the helicopter crew saw displayed while flying.

An initial report is expected around the end of February, though the NTSB has said its determination of the probable cause of the crash will take at least one year.

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Homendy said Friday that the on-scene portion of their investigation had wrapped and they were moving the wreckage to a secure location to continue to analyze the findings.

Homendy went on to say that it’s “too early to tell” exactly what the crew was seeing — and that while the plane did increase its pitch a second before impact, whichexperts have previouslysaid points to the airplane crew being aware they were in danger, there’s no indication that the helicopter crew saw the impending crash.

A visibility study will be conducted so investigators can get a better idea of what the helicopter pilots were able to see. The cause remains under investigation.

source: people.com