The News has reported that Investigators have found conflicting altimeter readings from the control tower data of the Black Hawk military helicopter and the passenger jet that collided over Washington on Jan. 29.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials told reporters on Feb. 1 that preliminary altimeter data do not match the events on the night of the deadly accident.
Officials said the control tower recorded the Black Hawk helicopter flying at an altitude of 200 feet at the time of the collision, in line with its maximum allowed altitude for its flight path.
However, data from the passenger jet’s flight recorder show the collision occurred at an altitude of about 325 feet, plus or minus 25 feet.
“That’s what our job is, to figure that out,” NTSB member J. Todd Inman said during an evening news conference on Feb. 1.
Investigators hope to reconcile the altitude differences with data from the helicopter’s black box, which is taking more time to retrieve because it became waterlogged after it plunged into the Potomac River. They also said they plan to refine the tower data, which can be less reliable.
The NTSB also detailed the last moments from the jet’s two black boxes according to Brice Banning, NTSB investigator in charge.
“The crew had a verbal reaction,” Banning said. One data recorder of sound from the cockpit indicated “the airplane beginning to increase its pitch,” he said.
“Sounds of impact were audible about one second later, followed by the end of the recording.”
The other black box captured flight data from the jet.
