Night goggles may have hampered army pilots before DC plane crash, experts say

Goggles would have made it hard for helicopter pilots to see plane's colored lights, experts said at inquiry into the crash

The pilots of a US army helicopter that collided with a passenger jet over Washington DC in January would have had difficulty spotting the plane while wearing night-vision goggles, experts told the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Friday.

The army goggles would have made it hard to see the plane's colored lights, which might have helped the Black Hawk determine the plane's direction. The goggles also limited the pilots' peripheral vision as they flew near Ronald Reagan Washington national airport that evening.