Army helicopter in DC crash was on 'routine' training flight carrying night-goggles

The Army helicopter that collided with an American Airlines passenger plane near Ronald Reagan National Airport on Wednesday, likely killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft, was the result of an "elevation issue" during a "routine" training flight carrying night-vision goggles, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday.

The mission was a "routine annual retraining – night flights on a standard [flight] corridor for a continuity of government mission," Hegseth said in remarks shared on X.

Later Wednesday, President Donald Trump said during a White House press conference that authorities "don't know" yet whether the pilots were wearing night-vision goggles during the crash, but that "we're going to... pretty soon." Trump suggested the goggles, if worn, could have played a significant role in the accident.

The three members of the "fairly experienced" crew held the ranks of captain, chief warrant officer 2, and staff sergeant, Hegseth said. (Warrant officers are a type of military officer trained and promoted for specialized technical expertise.) Their names have not been released yet, as the Department of Defense is working to inform their next of kin, Hegseth said.

The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, was minutes away from landing at Reagan Airport near Washington on Wednesday night just before 9 p.m. ET when it collided with the helicopter. Rescuers searched through the icy waters of the Potomac River, fearing possible survivors could contract hypothermia.

But by the next morning, authorities announced the rescue effort had turned to a recovery operation as 28 bodies were recovered – 27 from the plane, and one from the helicopter.

Jonathan Koziol, chief of staff of the Army's aviation directorate, said the presence of seasoned pilots on the helicopter - coupled with the familiarity of the route they were on - suggested the crash was "a tragic incident of two aircraft trying to occupy the same space at the same time."

The risk level associated with the helicopter's route, which Army craft fly "quite regularly, almost on a daily basis," was "low," Koziol said. But he added that "there is a lot of rigor involved" and both the "very experienced" instructor pilot flying the plane and their fellow pilot in command "could manage that aircraft by themselves."

The crew members were probably using their night-vision goggles, which are not necessary, but could have come in handy flying over the Potomac River, where there are no lights, he said.

The Army requires all of its pilots to complete annual night-flying evaluations, and annual flight proficiency evaluations include the use of night-vision goggles, according to training regulations. The service also requires pilots to complete a one-hour flight at least once every 60 days with night-vision goggles.

According to an FAA fact sheet, the goggles "affect depth perception and limit peripheral vision." They also often "increase fatigue due to eyestrain and increased helmet weight."

More: 'NOT GOOD!': Trump brings unusual approach to plane crash in first big crisis of his presidency

The helicopter, a UH-60 Black Hawk, took off from Davison Army Airfield at Fort Belvoir, about 15 miles southwest of the airport in Virginia, according to Ron McLendon II, deputy public affairs director of the Army's Military District of Washington. The aircraft belonged to the Army's B Company, 12th Aviation Battalion.

Such drills are intended to practice the military's ability to help key government officials survive and preserve official functions in the event of disasters or emergencies. The Army's 12th Aviation Battalion, according to an official website, flies to support "continuity of government/operations and defense support of civilian authorities."

"We anticipate that the investigation will quickly be able to determine whether the aircraft was in the corridor and at the right altitude at the time of the incident," McLendon said.

Severe Army aviation crashes rose in 2024

Wednesday's crash comes after serious flight accidents in the Army reached their highest level in a decade last year.

In fiscal year 2024, Army flight accidents that caused death, permanent disability, or at least $2.5 million in damages, or destroyed a military aircraft hit their highest level since 2014, according to Jimmie Cummings Jr., communication director at the Army's Combat Readiness Center.

Nearly all of them – 14 out of 15 that year – involved helicopters. Of the 14 helicopter mishaps, 12 occurred during training flights.

2024 "will be a year that Army Aviation looks back on in hopes of never repeating," this month's issue of Flightfax, an Army newsletter on mishap reports, began. From 2013 to 2023, "the average flight experience across the force is down approximately 300 flight hours per aviator," according to internal Army data cited in the newsletter.

As accidents skyrocketed, the Army last April paused flight operations to hold additional aviation safety trainings for its pilots. But Koziol said the pilots involved in Wednesday's crash were flying on a mission that was not one added as part of the trainings.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Army helicopter in airport crash was on 'routine' training flight