NEW YORK – The female pilot flying the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Airlines flight, made multiple mistakes and ignored a warning from her copilot.
The New York Times reports that there were multiple mistakes made leading up to the tragedy that took over 60 lives.
“Not only was the Black Hawk flying too high, but in the final seconds before the crash, its pilot failed to heed a directive from her co-pilot, an Army flight instructor, to change course,” the NYT reports.
The report also puts blame on the air traffic controller for not being clear and urgent enough however Warrant Officer Andrew Eaves, who was co-piloting and the instructor of Captain Rebecca Lobach, told her to turn left. She didn’t.
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“He told her he believed that air traffic control wanted them to turn left, toward the east river bank.”
“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,” reported the NYT.
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