The U.S. Army is giving its aviation units new navigation devices, starting with the Black Hawk unit involved in January’s deadly midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA).
According to a Washington Post report, the Army began distributing the devices in June to help improve pilots’ awareness of other aircraft around them. Some older military aircraft, including variants of the Black Hawk, do not have a centralized system that detects and displays the exact location of other aircraft. Instead, pilots rely on information from devices and instruments integrated through a tablet computer carried on board.
The Army did not provide further details about the navigation devices, such as their manufacturer or capabilities.
A UH-60 Black Hawk operated by the Army’s 12th Aviation Battalion collided with an American Airlines flight on January 29 as the passenger jet neared Washington National. The two aircraft burst into flames and fell into the Potomac River. All 67 people on board both aircraft were killed.
The crash has prompted lawmakers and aviation officials to call for improved safety measures on military flights.
On Tuesday, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced a bill that would require all aircraft, civilian and military, to have and use ADS-B Out and ADS-B In navigation technology. The bill is backed by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy, whose agency is currently investigating the collision.
The Army, which has said relatively little about the accident through official channels, is conducting its own investigation.
