The National Transportation Safety Board provided updates on its investigation into the collision between a passenger jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter at Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29 that resulted in 67 deaths. There were five people in the air traffic control tower at the time of the collision, including an operations supervisor and a supervisor in training. The agency plans to release a complete transcription of communications among the aircraft and traffic controllers on Sunday.
Lead investigator Brice Banning revealed that after the tower directed the helicopter to pass behind the plane, the plane crew had a verbal reaction and the flight data showed the plane starting to increase in pitch just before impact. The staffing levels in the control tower at the time of the accident were reported as “not normal,” with the NTSB stating that typical staffing can vary based on factors such as day of the week, time, and weather.
The U.S. Army identified Capt. Rebecca Lobach, 28, of Durham, North Carolina, as the third pilot of the Army helicopter involved in the crash. She was one of three soldiers aboard the helicopter. The Army had already identified the other two soldiers. For more updates on this news and other trending topics, readers can follow Mike Snider on Threads, Bluesky, and X or sign up for the trending newsletter.
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