Overview
- The Army’s internal investigation, completed in May 2026 and made public after being obtained on Oct. 8, 2026, concludes layered procedural and technical breakdowns led to the 2025 collision that killed 67 people.
- Investigators identified two broken radio transmissions as the key proximate cause, saying the helicopter crew never heard critical communications that would have helped them identify and avoid the airliner.
- The report says night‑vision goggles reduced pilots’ ability to spot the jet against city lights and cites reliance on older altimeter technology that produced a measurable altitude discrepancy for the Black Hawk.
- It calls for operational and equipment changes including wider use of ADS‑B transmit/receive systems on Army helicopters, reviews of helicopter routes in other major cities, and better data sharing with the FAA.
- Families of the victims are pressing Congress to require collision‑avoidance technology, lawmakers are negotiating a compromise aviation safety bill, and reporting indicates the FAA has implemented local operational changes to separate military and commercial approaches.