(The Center Square) – More information has emerged in the investigation into the mid-air collision over the Potomac River between an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter, as a lawmaker reveals the chopper had turned off a vital tracking system prior to the collision.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, addressed reporters following a closed-door briefing with federal authorities investigating the collision that killed 67 people.
Cruz said the chopper had turned off its Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast system.
The Federal Aviation Administration describes the system as “advanced surveillance technology that combines an aircraft’s positioning source, aircraft avionics, and ground infrastructure to create an accurate surveillance interface between aircraft” and air traffic control.
The technology is considered more “precise than radar.”
The senator questioned why the system was turned off prior to the collision, given the nature of the flight operations.
“This was a training mission so there was no compelling national security reason for the ADS-B to be turned off,” Cruz told reporters.
The latest development follows comments from National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy that based on preliminary information investigators believe the helicopter crew was wearing night vision goggles at the time of the collision, based on cockpit voice recordings.
“If you’re not wearing night vision goggles, you would state, typically by policy, that you are unaided,” Homendy said. “We did not find indication of that on the CVR, which means they would have had them on but again, it’s preliminary.”
The briefing, held on Thursday, came on the same day recovery crews raised the Black Hawk from the river.
Earlier in the week, the NTSB confirmed that the chopper was flying at about 300 feet at the time of the collision, above the 200-foot permitted flight ceiling for helicopters flying in the vicinity of Reagan National Airport.
The ceiling is meant to keep military and law enforcement helicopters clear of commercial aircraft landing and taking off in the already tightly restricted airspace around the nation’s capital.
In response to the collision, the FAA is restricting helicopter traffic over the river stretching from Memorial Bridge to the Woodrow Wilson.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the move would ensure safety following the crash between the commercial jet en route from Wichita, Kan., and an Army helicopter while the commercial jet was on approach to land at Reagan National Airport.
“The decision will immediately help secure the airspace near Reagan Airport, ensuring the safety of airplane and helicopter traffic,” said Duffy.
The NTSB expects to have a preliminary report on the collision within 30 days. Full final reports usually are at least a year or more before release.
