Helicopter Crew May Not Have Heard Air Traffic Control Instruction Before Midair Crash: NTSB

The National Transportation Safety Board says the Black Hawk helicopter was likely higher than its maximum-allowed height at the time of the crash.

NTSB investigators on scene of the Jan. 29 Bombardier CRJ700 and Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk midair collision on the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport, on Feb. 3, 2025. NTSB

The crew of the Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Airlines jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport last month may not have heard a key air traffic control instruction before the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Feb. 14.

The helicopter crew did not hear air traffic control’s (ATC) communication to “pass behind” the CRJ-700 jet moments before the collision, according to the aircraft’s cockpit voice recorder data.