A military helicopter was flying above the maximum altitude for its route when it collided with a passenger plane near Washington, D.C., last week, authorities said.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in an update on Tuesday that it obtained data, rounded to the nearest 100 feet, that showed the Black Hawk helicopter was flying at roughly 300 feet at the time of its fatal collision with American Airlines Flight 5342, which was flying into the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport from Wichita, Kansas.
“The ceiling of that route was 200 feet,” NTSB investigator Brice Banning said in a press briefing over the weekend.
Officials earlier said initial data showed the Army helicopter flying at 325 feet, plus or minus 25 feet, at the time of the crash. The Tuesday update was based on the latest information.
“NTSB needs additional information to verify data points from the Black Hawk,” the agency said in a statement. “In order to obtain this information, the Black Hawk needs to be recovered from the water, which is expected to take place later this week.”
President Donald Trump previously suggested that the helicopter was flying above the limit in a post on Truth Social.
“The Blackhawk helicopter was flying too high, by a lot,” he said. “It was far above the 200 foot limit. That’s not really too complicated to understand, is it???”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth later doubled down on Trump’s statement, saying “there was some sort of an elevation issue” that was being investigated.
The crash killed all 67 people in both aircraft—64 in the passenger plane and three in the helicopter—making it the deadliest U.S. air disaster since 2001.
Authorities announced on Tuesday that the remains of all 67 victims had now been recovered.
“Our hearts are with the victims’ families as they navigate this tragic loss,” city and federal agencies said in a release.
