THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED ON FRIDAY, JAN. 31 TO REFLECT UPDATED FATALITIES.
WASHINGTON – The type of Black Hawk U.S. Army helicopter involved in Wednesday night’s deadly crash with an American Airlines passenger jet ironically had just completed its first-ever ground runs earlier that day in Florida, according to Sikorsky.
As of Thursday afternoon, all 64 people aboard the plane and three soldiers on the helicopter were confirmed to have perished, NTSB officials said, and 40 bodies were recovered. Among the fatalities were figure skaters returning from the US championships in Kansas.
The UH-60M Black Hawk that was built by Stratford-based Sikorsky completed its first tests of the helicopter equipped with GE Aerospace T901 improved turbine engines in Florida. While it is not known what engines powered the doomed helicopter, it has been reported that a UH-60M helicopter with four soldiers on board did collide with an American Airlines jetliner carrying 60 people on route to Reagan National Airport. It has been reported to be the deadliest aviation disaster in the U.S. since Nov. 12, 2001.
“Our investigative team will be on scene as long as it takes in order to obtain all of the perishable evidence and compete all of the fact finding that is needed to bring to us to a conclusion of probable cause,” NTSB member J. Todd Inman said during the press conference. “Our mission is to understand not just what happened, but why it happened and to recommend changes to prevent it from happening again.”
Their intention is to have a preliminary report in 30 days, Inman said. “We will not be determining the probable cause while we are here on scene nor will we speculate about what may have caused this accident,” he said.
“Today we will be having an organizational meeting and establishing our parties for the investigation. We currently have the following parties that are already identified: PSA Airlines; GE Aerospace; Sikorsky; FAA; NACTA, which represents the air traffic controllers; ALPA, which represents the pilots; Army; and AFA, which represents the flight attendants. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada will be an accredited representative.”
The NTSB offers the party status to these organizations that have employees, activities or equipment involved with an accident, Inman said. They offer that because they will provide technical expertise and relevant information for the investigation, he added.
The Army gave a summary of what transpired on Wednesday night.
“While the investigation is ongoing, we are committed to transparency and will share accurate updates as soon as they become available,” said Maj. Gen. Trevor J. Bredenkamp, commander Joint Task Force – National Capital Region/ U.S. Army Military District of Washington.
“While performing a training mission a United States Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 12th Aviation Battalion, Davison Army Airfield, Fort Belvoir, Va., collided in midair with an American Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet Flight 5342 last night at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport,” he said.
“The FAA, NTSB and the United States Army will investigate. The NTSB will lead the investigation. We are working with local officials and will provide any additional information once it becomes available.”
Sikorsky ground run tests
Sikorsky reported on Jan. 29 that the ground runs on the T901 ITE engines verified system functionality, engine health and test setup for an efficient testing process.
The test demonstrated the T901’s start-to-fly progression, including idle and fly modes, with the rotor brake disengaged, marking a significant step toward the program’s goal of delivering a more powerful and efficient engine for the next-generation Black Hawk, the company said.
“The start-to-fly progression tests the functionality of the entire system, from the engine start sequence to the engagement of the main rotor to enable lift-off,” the company said. “The test team verifies that all critical systems, including fuel, electrical, hydraulic, and flight control systems, are functioning as expected.
The successful ground test set the stage for more advanced testing, such as hover and forward flight tests.
“Soldiers will rely on Black Hawk helicopters well into the future, and upgrades to the aircraft today will pay dividends for decades, enabling new missions such as deploying and managing launched effects,” said Hamid Salim, vice president of Army and Air Force Systems at Sikorsky. “A modernized Black Hawk fleet will create new operational opportunities for the Army by extending the capabilities of a proven, fielded fleet to travel farther on less fuel and with more troops and cargo.”
