FILE PHOTO: A crane retrieves part of the wreckage from the Potomac River, in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the river, by the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo

Investigators have found that a helicopter involved in a deadly crash with a passenger plane over Washington was flying above its height limit. The helicopter's altitude-measuring instrument was also inaccurate.

The board focused on air traffic control and heard it was common for pilots to ask to use visual separation — relying on eyesight — just as the Army Black Hawk’s pilot agreed to do the night of the crash.