Army Blackhawk Pilot in DC Crash Failed to Heed Flight Instructor’s Command 15 Seconds Before Deadly Collision: Report
The Army Blackhawk pilot involved in the Washington, DC, plane crash failed to heed her flight instructor’s warning just 15 seconds before the deadly crash that killed 67 people, according to a new report.
Moments before the deadly Jan. 29 crash near Reagan International Airport, Capt. Rebecca Lobach missed an order from co-pilot Andrew Eaves, who was overseeing her training mission, to change course and avoid the descending American Airlines jet, the New York Times reported.
Along with the error, officials found that the pilots “stepped on” some of the air traffic controller’s instructions, meaning they accidentally cut him off when pressing the button to talk over the radio and likely missed important information.
A key moment occurred around 8:46 p.m., when Eaves requested and received approval for the helicopter’s pilots to use their own visuals instead of air-traffic control to avoid other air traffic. The move is common practice to speed things up, but of course comes with the risk of more human error.
During that moment, investigators believe Eaves and Lobach failed to hear that the American Airlines plane was “circling” because one of them was pressing the microphone key to speak to air traffic control when the word came through. (Read more from “Army Blackhawk Pilot in DC Crash Failed to Heed Flight Instructor’s Command 15 Seconds Before Deadly Collision: Report” HERE)
