Black Hawk pilot ‘ignored instructions’ before Washington DC crash

Details of a key failure in the final minutes before a Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet in Washington DC, killing 67, have been revealed.

The pilot of the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Airlines passenger airplane over Washington DC did not comply with directions to change course seconds before the incident, a bombshell report has claimed.

The report, published by The New York Times, detailed the Black Hawk’s exchanges with air traffic controllers before the disaster, which left 67 people dead.

Wreckage in the Potomac River after the horrific crash. Picture: Getty Images

According to the report, the Black Hawk pilot, Captain Rebecca Lobach was conducting her annual flight evaluation on January 29 and her co-pilot, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, was acting as her flight instructor.

Captain Rebecca Lobach had been serving in the US Army since July 2019. Picture: Supplied

Rather than adhering to instructions from air traffic control, Captain Lobach and Warrant Officer Eaves requested to fly by “visual separation”, the report said.

This practice allows pilots to use their own observations to avoid collisions instead of following direct air traffic control instructions.

Mississippi man Andrew Eaves was among the military Black Hawk pilots who died in the crash.

In the final moments before the impact with American Airlines Flight 5342, Captain Lobach, who was flying her Black Hawk too high, failed to take advice and instruction from her co-pilot to switch course, the report said.

“The Black Hawk was 15 seconds away from crossing paths with the jet. Warrant Officer Eaves then turned his attention to Captain Lobach. He told her he believed that air traffic control wanted them to turn left, toward the east river bank,” The New York Times reported.

“Turning left would have opened up more space between the helicopter and Flight 5342, which was heading for Runway 33 at an altitude of roughly 300 feet. She did not turn left,” the report said.

A wing of American Airlines Flight 5342 is lifted from the Potomac River during recovery efforts in Arlington, Virginia. Picture: Getty Images via AFP

Captain Lobach, of Durham, North Carolina, had served as an Army aviation officer since July 2019, earning an Army commendation medal and an achievement medal after graduating from the University of North Carolina as a distinguished military graduate.

Debris from the crash. Picture: NTSB

The plane crash occurred near Reagan Washington National Airport, with Flight 5342 crashing into the Potomac River.

The collision has since sparked a US-wide review of air traffic control protocols, particularly regarding the frequency of near misses at the airport.

Among those killed on the American Airlines jet were children returning from the US Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas.