Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said Thursday that the Army Black Hawk helicopter involved in last month’s midair collision with an American Airlines flight didn’t have an advanced tracking system enabled.
The system, the automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast, or ADS-B, would’ve enabled air traffic control to track the aircraft with much greater accuracy.
“This was a training mission, so there was no compelling national security reason for ADS-B to be turned off,” Cruz said after a National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration briefing.
“I will say the NTSB, they are serious professionals. Any time there is an aviation accident, especially one involving a loss of life, they engage in a serious and thorough investigation, as they should. And what happened with this accident was tragic and catastrophic,” Cruz added.
The FAA describes the tracking system as “an advanced surveillance technology that combines an aircraft’s positioning source, aircraft avionics, and a ground infrastructure to create an accurate surveillance interface between aircraft and ATC.”
The accident killed 67 people and was the worst commercial airline accident in the United States since 2009.
“Sixty-seven souls lost their lives. We need to follow the evidence. We need to determine exactly what caused it,” he added. “And then we need to learn lessons from the cause of that accident. Do everything possible to prevent a subsequent accident.”
NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said Thursday that the crew of the helicopter were wearing night-vision goggles.
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“We do believe, given the mission and given what we’ve heard or not heard on the CVR (cockpit voice recorder) that they were wearing night-vision goggles,” Homendy said.
Authorities said Thursday that all “major wreckage components” have been recovered from the Potomac River, including the military helicopter. The NTSB’s investigation is still ongoing.
