Black Hawk helicopter may not have heard order to go behind American Airlines jet - The Army helicopter appeared to be experiencing other issues with its communications and technology, according to sa

The National Transportation Safety Board said the helicopter’s cockpit voice recorder didn’t capture key directions from air-traffic control and is investigating whether the crew might have seen a different altitude on the flight instruments.

The Army helicopter that collided with a passenger plane above the Potomac River boasted an experienced crew doing “an unforgiving job.” Friends and relatives are still baffled and mourning their loss.

That transmission was interrupted — it was stepped on,” said Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board.

A preliminary analysis of the flight data and voice recorder on board a Black Hawk helicopter leading up to the collision with a commercial flight over Washington, DC, on January 29, indicated the helicopter’s altimeter may have been inaccurate and the pilots may not have heard some calls from the Reagan National Airport control tower,

The Army pilots were juggling dark skies, low altitude, a busy airspace and a cockpit without certain traffic detectors before the helicopter’s midair crash with a regional passenger jet.

Official tells reporters that recording from Black Hawk helicopter suggests incomplete radio transmission might have left crew without an understanding of how it should shift position