An investigation into a fatal mid-air collision in Washington, which claimed 67 lives when a U.S. Army helicopter collided with a passenger plane, has uncovered inconsistencies in the helicopter’s altitude displays.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) conducted hearings from Wednesday to Friday, thoroughly questioning experts, regulators, and air traffic controllers.
The January 29 crash involved a Sikorsky Black Hawk military helicopter and a Bombardier CRJ700 operated by an American Airlines subsidiary, with no survivors.
The passenger plane from Wichita, Kansas, was coming in to land at Reagan National Airport — just a few miles from the White House — when the Army helicopter on a training flight collided with it.
After examining flight recorder data, the NTSB first reported a discrepancy in the helicopter’s altitude readings on February 14.
As part of the investigation, tests were conducted with three of the same helicopter models — Sikorsky Black Hawk Lima — belonging to the same battalion.
The findings revealed this week showed differences between the altitude indicated by the radar altimeter and the barometric altimeter on the aircraft.
Investigator Marie Moler noted that the altimeters “showed an 80- to 130-foot (24- to 40-meter) difference in flight,” although the differences were within 20 to 55 feet in a controlled test environment.
“Once the helicopter rotors were turning and producing lift and thrust, the altimeter readings lowered significantly and stayed lower throughout the flights,” Moler said.
NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy called the discrepancy significant, calling for more investigation.
“I am concerned. There is a possibility that what the crew saw was very different than what the true altitude was,” Homendy said.
“A 100-foot difference is significant,” in this case, she added.
In the Potomac River area where the collision occurred, helicopters are required to stay below 200 feet, officials said during the hearings.
President Donald Trump was quick to blame diversity hiring policies for the accident, although no evidence has emerged that they were responsible.
Federal Aviation Agency air traffic control specialist Clark Allen told the hearing there was sufficient supervisory staff present in the control tower that night.
The collision was the first major plane crash in the United States since 2009, when 49 people were killed near Buffalo, New York.
US Pilot Sues Influencer Over False Crash Claims
A transgender US pilot, Jo Ellis, filed a defamation lawsuit in April against conservative influencer Matt Wallace in a Colorado federal court. The suit alleges that Wallace falsely claimed on social media that Ellis piloted a military helicopter involved in a fatal mid-air collision with a passenger jet.
Wallace, who has 2.2 million followers on X, posted content suggesting Ellis may have caused the crash as a “trans terror attack” linked to her “depression” and “gender dysphoria,” according to the lawsuit.
These claims, which reached millions of viewers, were later deleted by Wallace, who has not yet commented publicly on the suit. The lawsuit accuses Wallace of exploiting his large X following across multiple accounts to profit from a fabricated narrative.
As false accusations spread across thousands of social media posts, Ellis feared for her safety, concerned that her home address could be found through public records.
She told AFP in February that she relocated her family temporarily and hired private armed security for protection.
The lawsuit states that Wallace’s actions caused “instantaneous and immense” harm, fueling hate and distress for Ellis and her family. Despite Ellis posting a “proof of life” video on Facebook to counter the rumors, some false claims persisted. Ellis, a National Guard member since 2009 with deployments to Iraq and Kuwait, faces threats that underscore the real-world consequences of disinformation targeting transgender individuals.
This comes amid heightened anti-trans rhetoric in the US, amplified by political actions like executive orders from President Trump, including one recognizing only two sexes, male and female.
Following the crash, Trump suggested—without evidence—that diversity hiring practices in aviation might have contributed, further fueling online rumors against trans people.
The case reflects a growing trend of defamation lawsuits in the US aimed at holding misinformation spreaders accountable. A notable example is the 2023 Dominion Voting Systems settlement with Fox News for $787.5 million over false election-related claims.
With Inputs fro AFP
