A U.S. Army helicopter was flying higher than permitted limits when it collided in midair with an American Airlines Group Inc. regional jet last week, according to U.S. aviation safety investigators.
The altitude of both aircraft are central issues to investigators working to unravel how the worst U.S. civil aviation disaster in decades occurred, and how to prevent similar accidents from happening again.
The National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday that its latest data shows the Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk was flying at about 300 feet at the time of the accident, about 100 feet higher than a preliminary review of radar data indicated. The updated assessment of what air traffic controllers saw on their display in the tower reflects multiple radar sensors and other data sources, the agency said.
The NTSB said it needs additional information from the Black Hawk itself, which it expects to receive after recovering it from the water later this week.
In addition to altitude, investigators have also looked into staffing at the air-traffic control tower on the night of the accident and are reviewing the maintenance records for both aircraft. The crash killed 67 people.
Helicopters in the area where the crash occurred are limited to 200 feet. Investigators previously disclosed the American jet’s flight data recorder measured the impact as happening at 325 feet — plus or minus 25 feet.
Bloomberg previously reported that the helicopter was flying higher than the permitted limit.
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