Featured Image Credit: CNN
Topics: US News, Travel, American Airlines
Olivia Burke
Officials have released new information about the horrific crash between an American Airlines plane and a Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C.
Investigators have been trying to piece together what happened in the moments leading up to the aviation disaster which took place on 29 January.
Now, data from an air traffic control radar has revealed that the army helicopter carrying three soldiers was flying 100ft higher than it should have been.
Captain Rebecca M. Lobach, 28, was on the fateful flight alongside Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39.
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The trio were out on a routine training exercise in Washington, D.C., and the maximum altitude for helicopters in the area they were flying in is 200ft.
The airspace surrounding the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is typically very busy and crossovers between planes and helicopters aren't out of the ordinary.
However, data gathered from an air traffic control tower states that the chopper was flying at 300 feet, according to authorities.
The National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) explained that radar data is rounded to the nearest 100ft, meaning the chopper was flying somewhere between 251ft and 349ft in the air.
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The American Airlines jet had been cleared to land at the nearby airport and was at around 325ft at the time of the collision.
It is hoped that more details about the circumstances surrounding the collision will emerge once the Black Hawk wreckage has been retrieved from the Potomac River.
All 67 victims have now been recovered from the water, officials announced on Tuesday (4 February), and all but one have been positively identified.
Emergency responders have spoken out about the huge mental toll retrieving the bodies has taken on them, with one firefighter saying that crews were 'emotionally wiped out'.
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Authorities said the American Airlines pilots made a last ditch effort to stop the devastating crash, by trying to propel the plane carrying 64 people upwards.
Todd Inman of the NTSB previously explained: "At one point very close to the impact, there was a slight change in pitch, an increase in pitch."
His colleague Brice Banning, who is in charge of the investigation, added: "The crew had a verbal reaction. Sounds of impact were audible about one second later, followed by the end of the recording."
He explained that the probe into the incident has a lot of 'complex' circumstances, saying: "There are a lot of pieces here. Our team is working hard to gather this data."