GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas revealed Thursday that the U.S. Army helicopter that collided with a passenger jet last week near Washington’s Reagan Airport had a key safety system turned off.
Cruz, who is chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, told reporters after receiving a briefing from Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board officials that the Black Hawk helicopter had its automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) turned off.
The ADS-B is a technology that transmits the aircraft’s location to air traffic control and other aircraft in the area.
“This was a training mission, so there was no compelling national security reason for ADS-B to be turned off,” Cruz said.
The senator said, he “asked the Army to reconsider and assess with what frequency is the Army turning off ADS-B Out on military missions, particularly missions that do not have a sensitive national security component.”
“Now it’s worth noting, the Black Hawk had a transponder, so it would appear on radar, but ADS-B Out is significantly more accurate. The NTSB has recommended ADS-B In and ADS-B Out on all aircraft,” Cruz added.
The chairman also pointed out to reporters, regarding the cause of the crash, “In this instance, it appears the Black Hawk helicopter was flying at a dramatically different altitude than where the helicopter was supposed to be, and the investigation needs to proceed. We need to understand why that is the case.”
The helicopter was supposed to be flying at an altitude of no more than 200 feet, but the air traffic controller’s radar showed it at approximately 300 feet, ABC News reported.
Do you think the Black Hawk-jetliner crash was ultimately caused by simple human error?
Meanwhile, the American Airlines jet’s flight recorder showed it at 325 feet.
The Jan. 29 collision left 67 dead, including 64 onboard the jet and three Army personnel on the helicopter.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters the day after the accident that the Black Hawk was on a routine night flight training mission involving “continuity of government.”
SecDef Pete Hegseth: Routine retraining involving military helicopter on “Continuity of Government” mission resulted in crash with commercial airplane…pic.twitter.com/SUEfe4D9sM
— Liberty Times & Politics (@dmills3710) January 31, 2025
“The military does dangerous things, it does routine things on a regular basis. Tragically, last night a mistake was made,” he acknowledged, saying a flight elevation issue regarding the Black Hawk was being investigated as the cause of the crash.
Additionally, “NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters it appears based on the cockpit voice recorder that the helicopter pilot was wearing night vision goggles,” according to Reuters.
Bloomberg reported, the Black Hawk was part of the 12th Aviation Battalion, whose mission includes quickly evacuating top U.S. officials to secure locations in the event of an attack on the federal government.
“The government doesn’t disclose details of its evacuation plans for top officials, but they likely involve Raven Rock Mountain, a facility in Pennsylvania that has been used since the 1950s as an alternate command center in the event of a nuclear war,” the news outlet said.
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