Army helicopter may not have heard air traffic instruction before crash in DC

Transport safety board said recording suggests crew missed directive before crashing into passenger plane, killing 67

The crew of the helicopter that collided in midair with an American Airlines jet near Washington DC's Ronald Reagan National airport might not have heard instructions from the air traffic controller to pass behind the plane, investigators said on Friday.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chair, Jennifer Homendy, said the recording from the Black Hawk helicopter cockpit suggested the crew may have missed the key instruction just before the 29 January collision, in which all 67 people onboard the two aircraft were killed.