The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Tuesday said the Army Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into a PSA Airlines CRJ700 airliner on Jan. 29, killing 67, was flying too high.
Flight traffic data obtained by the NTSB confirms the Black Hawk was at 300 feet on the air traffic control display at the time of the midair crash, which is 100 feet higher than the 200-foot ceiling for helicopters flying in the National Capital Region.
Since the data was rounded to the nearest 100 feet, officials need additional information to verify data points from the Black Hawk.
That will require recovering the aircraft from the water, which is slated to happen later this week.
Investigators searched through Black Hawk wreckage for the combined FDR and CVR. (NTSB)
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Preliminary information showed there was a change in the aircraft’s pitch, indicating the plane pulled up prior to the crash.
NTSB investigators continue to transcribe the cockpit voice recorders for both aircraft. Synchronization work for the Black Hawk flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder is ongoing.
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Wreckage from the passenger plane is still being recovered from the Potomac River, with new finds including the right wing, center fuselage, part of the left wing and left fuselage, significant portions of the forward cabin and cockpit, vertical and horizontal stabilizers, tail cone, rudder, elevators, TCAS computer and quick access recorder.
The recovered wreckage will be moved to a secure location for a wreckage layout examination.
A police boat patrols the water and guards the crime scene after an American Airlines plane collided in midair with a military helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. United States on January 30, 2025. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“The aircraft systems group continues to review maintenance paperwork for the CRJ700 and the helicopter airworthiness group continues to review maintenance records for the Black Hawk,” according to the NTSB.
As of Tuesday, the bodies of all 67 identified victims were pulled from the river.
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Fox News Digital’s Andrea Margolis and Rick Eggleston contributed to this story.
