# Reagan National Midair NTSB Hearing Day 1: Army Black Hawk & Regional Jet Crash Testimony

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ntsb-news-talk-aviation-accidents-safety-investigations-pilot-lessons-7333682/reagan-national-midair-ntsb-hearing-day-1-army-black-hawk-regional-jet-crash-testimony
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ntsb-news-talk-aviation-accidents-safety-investigations-pilot-lessons-7333682/reagan-national-midair-ntsb-hearing-day-1-army-black-hawk-regional-jet-crash-testimony.md
Podcast: [NTSB News Talk – Aviation Accidents, Safety Investigations & Pilot Lessons](https://stenobird.com/podcast/ntsb-news-talk-aviation-accidents-safety-investigations-pilot-lessons-7333682)
Published: 2025-07-30T16:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://ntsb-news-talk.captivate.fm
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/6760497c-af50-4c08-9f81-d74a843be455.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/ntsb-news-talk-aviation-accidents-safety-investigations-pilot-lessons-7333682/episodes/reagan-national-midair-ntsb-hearing-day-1-army-black-hawk-regional-jet-crash-testimony
Duration seconds: 4339

## Resource

Max Trescott takes listeners deep inside Day 1 of the NTSB’s investigative hearing into the tragic midair collision near Washington’s Reagan National Airport between a PSA Airlines CRJ-700 and a U.S. Army UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter. The accident claimed the lives of 67 people, including the crew of both aircraft, and has become one of the most scrutinized airspace safety failures in recent history. In this episode of NTSB News Talk , Max distills over ten hours of testimony into 18 critical clips, delivering more than an hour of compelling audio that reveals surprising findings, heated exchanges, and systemic safety issues. The day opened with an animated reconstruction of the collision showing the helicopter at 280 feet MSL—80 feet above the 200-foot altitude depicted for that segment of the published helicopter route—and the CRJ-700 at 290 feet on short final to DCA’s Runway 33. Panel 1, “Overview of Accident Helicopter’s Air Data Systems and Altimeters,” uncovered a significant problem with UH-60L altimeter accuracy. Test flights conducted after the accident revealed rotor downwash caused barometric altimeters to read 80–130 feet lower than true altitude at hover and cruise. Compounding the issue, transponder encoders legally transmit in 100-foot increments and can be off by up to 90 feet while still being “in spec.” The testimony underscored how cumulative tolerances could create a 100-foot discrepancy between left and right seat altimeters, even with properly maintained systems. The hearing also exposed a fundamental difference in altitude standards between Army and civilian pilots. Army witnesses stated their standard is to maintain altitude within ±100 feet, meaning 300 feet would still be considered acceptable when targeting 200 feet MSL. Civilian operators,…

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