Experts told the National Transportation Safety Board on Friday that the pilots of a U.S. Army helicopter that crashed with a passenger flight over Washington in January would have had trouble identifying the aircraft if they had been using night vision goggles.
The colored lights on the jet might have helped the Black Hawk establish its orientation, but the Army goggles would have made it difficult to see them. The pilots’ peripheral vision was also restricted by the goggles while they were flying close to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
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The third and last day of the NTSB’s public hearing into the deadly midair crash that killed all 67 passengers on board both aircraft included a discussion of the difficulties presented by night-vision goggles.
Another difficulty that night, according to experts, was telling the plane apart from ground-based lighting as the two planes were headed for collision. Furthermore, it’s possible that the helicopter pilots were unaware of where to search for a plane landing on a backup runway that was little used by aircraft.
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being aware of where to search. That’s crucial, according to human factors specialist Stephen Casner, a former NASA employee.
Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy urged the Federal Aviation Administration to do better after two days of hearing highlighted several variables that likely contributed to the disaster. She did this by pointing to warnings the agency had disregarded years prior.
The Black Hawk helicopter flying above the allowed limits close to the airport and the warnings given to FAA officials for years about the dangers associated with the airport’s high volume of helicopter activity are some of the main problems that have surfaced thus far.
The board cannot yet determine the precise reason of the crash. The board won’t release its final findings until the following year.
This week, however, it became evident how narrow the margin of error was for helicopters operating the Black Hawk’s path on the night of the deadliest jet accident in the country since November 2001.
Although some pilots in the 12th Battalion that flew with the crew that crashed told investigators they frequently discussed the possibility of a collision due to the crowded and complex airspace, Army Colonel Andrew DeForest told the NTSB that flights along the D.C. helicopter routes were thought to be reasonably safe.
Among the passengers on the American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, were four union steamfitters from the Washington region, a group of young, talented figure skaters, and their parents and trainers.
Although statistics continue to demonstrate that flying is still the safest mode of transportation, the incident was the first in a series of mishaps and near-misses this year that have worried officials and the traveling public.
Significant frustration
During Friday’s session, NTSB members chastised FAA officials for allegedly making the right safety-related statements in public but not cooperating in private. They said that the FAA has consistently turned down investigators’ requests for information.
Todd Inman, a board member, stated that there was a great deal of annoyance between what was actually happening and “what is being said for public consumption.”
The chief of the FAA’s air traffic control organization, Frank McIntosh, promised to get to work right away to ensure the agency cooperates with the inquiry. McIntosh also admitted that, in spite of previous attempts to increase adherence to safety regulations, there were issues with the culture in the Reagan National tower.
To be really honest with you, I believe we missed a few things—not on purpose, but I was discussing how some facilities can drift,” McIntosh remarked.
Homendy told McIntosh that although she thinks agency executives genuinely want to increase safety, the solution needs to go beyond simply communicating safety from the top down and paying attention to field controllers.
Questions over lack of alcohol testing
Aviation expert Tim Lilley, whose son Sam flew on the passenger flight, expressed optimism that the tragic tragedy may eventually result in some constructive improvements.
However, he told The Associated Press, “We still have a long way to go.”
After the incident, Lilley stated he was especially disappointed by the FAA’s decision to not test air traffic controllers for alcohol.
Lilley added, “They came up with a number of reasons why they didn’t do it.” “They were all invalid. It stems from a whole system that was normalizing deviation and was complacent.
During the proceedings on Thursday, Homendy stated that alcohol testing can be conducted within eight hours following a collision and is most effective within two hours.
The controllers weren’t tested because the FAA didn’t think the incident was fatal right away, according to Nick Fuller, acting deputy chief operating officer of operations. Then, since the ideal two-hour timeframe had elapsed, the FAA chose not to proceed.
Controller didn’t warn the jet
This week, FAA officials testified that the passenger flight should have been alerted to the presence of the Army helicopter by an air traffic controller.
An alarm concerning their proximity had gone up in the tower, so the controller had requested the Black Hawk pilots to make sure they could see the airplane. The helicopter was too close, as the controller could see via a window, yet the controller chose not to warn the aircraft.
The unnamed controller stated in a post-crash interview that they weren’t certain that would have altered the result, according to a transcript made public this week.
Furthermore, before to the crash, the helicopter’s pilots did not completely hear the controller’s orders. Because the Black Hawk’s microphone key was pushed at the time, the crew was not able to hear the controller telling the helicopter’s pilots to pass behind the jet.
Layer after layer of deficiencies
Like holes that line up in Swiss cheese, a number of causes led to this disaster, according to Jeff Guzzetti, a veteran NTSB and FAA crash investigator who spoke to the AP.
He said that a variety of factors could have avoided the incident if they had been different. These include the Black Hawks’ more precise altimeters and the activation or operation of a crucial piece of locating technology called ADS-B Out. Air traffic control, in turn, may have recognized the issue sooner.
According to Guzzetti, a few steps may have made all the difference.
Guzzetti stated, “It just goes to show you that an accident isn’t caused by one thing.” Neither pilot mistake nor controller personnel is to blame. Layer after layer of flaws that accumulated at the perfect time led to this accident.
Ex-official: FAA and Army share blame
The Army and the FAA seem to bear a great deal of responsibility, former Inspector General Mary Schiavo of the U.S. Department of Transportation told the AP.
According to her, the Black Hawks’ altimeters were still deemed acceptable even if they were wrong by up to 100 feet. The team was operating an antiquated helicopter that had trouble staying in the air, and the pilots were unsupervised and flying freely.
God rest their souls, it’s on the people, but it’s also on the soldiers, Schiavo stated. They simply don’t seem to be concerned about anything.
Schiavo was also struck by the air traffic controllers lack of maps of the military helicopter routes on their display screens, which forced them to look out the window.
And so everything about the military helicopter operation was not up to the standards of commercial aviation … it s a shocking lack of attention to precision all the way around, she said.
Schiavo also faulted the FAA for not coming off as terribly responsive to problems.
I called the Federal Aviation Administration, the Tombstone Agency, because they would only make change after people die, Schiavo said. And sadly, 30 years later, that seems to still be the case.
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A previous version of this story misspelled the name of Rick Dressler, an official with medevac operator Metro Aviation, in one instance.
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Associated Press writers David Klepper, Mike Catalini, Leah Askarinam, Ben Finley and Rio Yamat contributed.
