By Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Doina Chiacu
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday the Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided with a regional passenger jet in Washington, D.C. was flying too high at the time of the accident, in what appeared to be a major disclosure about the investigation.
U.S. military helicopters regularly fly a route over the Potomac River near the busy Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, known as Route 4. For safety reasons, the altitude on those helicopter flights is capped at 200 feet (61 meters).
“The Blackhawk helicopter was flying too high, by a lot. It was far above the 200 foot limit. That’s not really too complicated to understand, is it???” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
The Army did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The crash, in which 67 people died, remains under investigation by federal transportation authorities. An Army official, speaking on condition of anonymity, urged caution and patience as the investigation continues.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has acknowledged there may have been an elevation issue with the Black Hawk. But, speaking earlier on Friday, before Trump’s remarks, he said it was still inconclusive.
“We’re looking at altitude, and the president was clear about that: someone was at the wrong altitude. The investigation will help us understand that. Was the Black Hawk too high, was it on course? Right now, we don’t quite know,” he told Fox News in an interview.
Hegseth and the Army have said the three-member crew of soldiers on the Black Hawk were experienced. The Army said the instructor pilot, who was the designated pilot in command, had 1,000 flying hours while the other pilot had 500 hours.
The third soldier was a crew chief, typically riding in the back of the helicopter.
The helicopter was from the 12th Aviation Battalion, which is based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. The unit is responsible for helicopter flights in the U.S. capital area and regularly transports senior U.S. government officials.
The unit was placed on a 48-hour pause on Thursday and Hegseth suggested it should be extended.
“We should have that pause until we get to the bottom of this,” Hegseth said.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is indefinitely restricting helicopter flights near Washington Reagan National.
Todd Inman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said investigators have been told that the Black Hawk will have had a recorder on it. They were not sure if it was a combined data and voice recorder because it was a military craft, he said.
“But we are told that there is one on board. We have not retrieved it yet, but we feel comfortable knowing where it’s at,” Inman said in an interview with CNN.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali Doina Chiacu in Washington; Editing by Toby Chopra and Nia Williams)
