{"id":82496,"date":"2025-08-01T22:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T22:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2025\/08\/01\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:06:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:06:54","slug":"night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2025\/08\/01\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\/","title":{"rendered":"Night vision goggles may have hampered pilots before DC crash: Experts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The pilots of a U.S. Army helicopter that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2025\/01\/30\/passenger-jet-collides-with-army-helicopter-at-reagan-airport\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2025\/01\/30\/passenger-jet-collides-with-army-helicopter-at-reagan-airport\/\">collided with a passenger jet<\/a> over Washington in January would\u2019ve had difficulty spotting the plane while wearing night vision goggles, experts told the National Transportation Safety Board on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army goggles would have made it difficult to see the plane\u2019s colored lights, which might have helped the Black Hawk determine the plane\u2019s direction. The goggles also limited the pilots\u2019 peripheral vision as they flew near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The challenges posed by night-vision goggles were among the topics discussed at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2025\/07\/30\/ntsb-finds-army-chopper-in-fatal-midair-crash-was-above-altitude-limit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2025\/07\/30\/ntsb-finds-army-chopper-in-fatal-midair-crash-was-above-altitude-limit\/\">NTSB\u2019s third and final day<\/a> of public testimony over the fatal midair crash, which killed all 67 people aboard both aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Experts said another challenge that evening was distinguishing the plane from lights on the ground while the two aircraft were on a collision course. Plus, the helicopter pilots may not have known where to look for a plane that was landing on a secondary runway that most planes didn\u2019t use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cKnowing where to look. That\u2019s key,\u201d said Stephen Casner, an expert in human factors who used to work at NASA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two previous days of testimony underscored a number of factors that likely contributed to the collision, sparking Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy to urge the Federal Aviation Administration to \u201cdo better\u201d as she pointed to warnings the agency ignored years earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some of the major issues that have emerged so far include the Black Hawk helicopter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2025\/07\/30\/ntsb-finds-army-chopper-in-fatal-midair-crash-was-above-altitude-limit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2025\/07\/30\/ntsb-finds-army-chopper-in-fatal-midair-crash-was-above-altitude-limit\/\">flying above prescribed levels<\/a> near the airport as well as the warnings to FAA officials for years about the hazards related to the heavy chopper traffic there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s too early for the board to identify what exactly caused the crash. A final report from the board won\u2019t come until next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But it became clear this week how small a margin of error there was for helicopters flying the route the Black Hawk took the night of the nation\u2019s deadliest plane crash since November 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The American Airlines jet arrived from Wichita, Kansas, carrying, among others, a group of elite young figure skaters, their parents and coaches and four union steamfitters from the Washington area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The collision was the first in a string of crashes and near misses this year that have alarmed officials and the traveling public, despite statistics that still show flying remains the safest form of transportation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Questions over lack of alcohol testing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tim Lilley, an aviation expert whose son Sam was a pilot on the passenger jet, said he\u2019s optimistic the tragic accident will ultimately lead to some positive changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut we\u2019ve got a long way to go,\u201d he told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lilley said he was particularly struck by the FAA\u2019s lack of alcohol testing for air traffic controllers after the crash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat\u2019s pretty disturbing because that\u2019s automatic in aviation,\u201d Lilly said. \u201cEverybody knows if there\u2019s a serious incident, you go to alcohol testing. And they made a bunch of excuses why they didn\u2019t do it. None of them were valid. It goes back to a whole system that was complacent and was normalizing deviation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Homendy brought up the lack of alcohol testing during Thursday\u2019s hearings, noting that it\u2019s most effective within two hours of a crash and can be administered within eight hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nick Fuller, the FAA\u2019s acting deputy chief operating officer of operations, testified that the controllers weren\u2019t tested for alcohol because the agency did not immediately believe the crash was fatal. The FAA then decided to forgo it because the optimum two-hour window had passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NTSB board member Todd Inman told Fuller fatalities were confirmed 20 minutes after the crash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHow can you tell me that you release those controllers at midnight, but you didn\u2019t know a fatality occurred?\u201d Inman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fuller said the relevant FAA officials didn\u2019t have confirmation yet. Fuller said the agency is taking corrective steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"8256\" height=\"5504\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25211553378557.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-109845\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25211553378557.jpg.jpg 8256w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25211553378557.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25211553378557.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25211553378557.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25211553378557.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25211553378557.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 8256px) 100vw, 8256px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gwen Duggins, second from right, whose daughter Kiah Duggins perished on American Airlines flight 5342 in a collision with a U.S. military helicopter, wipes the tears from her eyes while listening to the audio of the flight radio transmissions during the NTSB&#8217;s hearing Wednesday. (Rod Lamkey, Jr.\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Controller didn\u2019t warn jet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">FAA officials testified this week that an air traffic controller should have warned the passenger jet of the Army helicopter\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The controller had asked the Black Hawk pilots to confirm they had the airplane in sight because an alarm sounded in the tower about their proximity. The controller could see from a window that the helicopter was too close, but the controller did not alert the jetliner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a transcript released this week, the unidentified controller said in a post-crash interview they weren\u2019t sure that would have changed the outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally, the pilots of the helicopter did not fully hear the controller\u2019s instructions before the collision. When the controller told helicopter\u2019s pilots to \u201cpass behind\u201d the jet, the crew didn\u2019t hear it because the Black Hawk\u2019s microphone key was pressed at that moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just before the collision, the helicopter\u2019s instructor pilot asked the pilot at the controls to come left. But it wasn\u2019t clear if the pilot had time to maneuver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Worry over military helicopters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rick Dressler, an official with medevac operator Metro Aviation, told the board on Thursday it is difficult to identify other aircraft in the night sky around Reagan National, especially if a key onboard locator system was switched off, as Army choppers routinely did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dressler said that he and other civilian helicopter pilots in the area have long been concerned about the military helicopters flying around Reagan airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t like saying this. I\u2019ll say it again on the record,\u201d Dressler, a former Army aviator and retired Air Force officer, said. \u201cI\u2019m speaking for my group there. We we are all very uncomfortable when those two units are operating.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Department of Defense referred questions about Thursday\u2019s testimony to the Army, which did not immediately respond. Army officials at the hearing did ask Dressler to elaborate on his concerns and consider visiting the Pentagon to share them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dressler said part of what worries him is the relative lack of experience of the military pilots who may have only been in the area a short time and don\u2019t understand the complex airspace around Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey don\u2019t get the seasoning here to really, truly understand how the airspace works,\u201d said Dressler, who also complained that the Army helicopter unit no longer participates in regular meetings with all the other aviators in the area to discuss issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force also did not immediately respond to questions about Dressler\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Concern about distances between planes and helicopters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">John Cox, an aviation safety expert and retired airline pilot, said the hearings are headed in the right direction to determine what happened and to prevent similar accidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His main concerns focus on the Black Hawk, including why it was above a 200-feet elevation limit. Another question is why the helicopter wasn\u2019t closer to the east bank of the Potomac River, where it would have been further away from landing airplanes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ve passed helicopters underneath me over the east bank of the Potomac a lot of times,\u201d said Cox, who flew commercial airliners for 25 years. \u201cAnd there\u2019s always been plenty of separation. It\u2019s not a lot because the space is so constrained. But you\u2019re dealing with professional pilots and it\u2019s not been a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Investigators said Wednesday the flight data recorder showed the helicopter was actually 80 feet to 100 feet higher than the barometric altimeter the pilots relied upon showed they were flying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Associated Press writers David Klepper, Mike Catalini, Leah Askarinam, Ben Finley and Rio Yamat contributed to this story.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aviation experts said the goggles may have created viewing difficulties for the pilots of a U.S. Army helicopter that collided with a jet in January.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":109841,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":70,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,12,25,70],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3621],"class_list":["post-82496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-army"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"24CY5V2YPVDBNFCO6EXI7NS7FI","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2025\/08\/01\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Night vision goggles may have hampered pilots before DC crash: Experts - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Aviation experts said the goggles may have created viewing difficulties for the pilots of a U.S. Army helicopter that collided with a jet in January.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Night vision goggles may have hampered pilots before DC crash: Experts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Aviation experts said the goggles may have created viewing difficulties for the pilots of a U.S. Army helicopter that collided with a jet in January.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2025\/08\/01\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Army Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-01T22:30:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T16:06:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Josh Funk, The Associated Press\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Josh Funk, The Associated Press\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/01\\\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/01\\\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Night vision goggles may have hampered pilots before DC crash: Experts\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2025-08-01T22:30:00+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T16:06:54+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/01\\\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 1322,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/01\\\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP25211554000199.jpg_ebc4d4.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Your Army\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/01\\\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/01\\\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/01\\\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Night vision goggles may have hampered pilots before DC crash: Experts - Army Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/01\\\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/01\\\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP25211554000199.jpg_ebc4d4.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2025-08-01T22:30:00+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T16:06:54+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Aviation experts said the goggles may have created viewing difficulties for the pilots of a U.S. Army helicopter that collided with a jet in January.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/01\\\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/01\\\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/01\\\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP25211554000199.jpg_ebc4d4.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP25211554000199.jpg_ebc4d4.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/01\\\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"News\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"news\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Your Army\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"your-army\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 4,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Night vision goggles may have hampered pilots before DC crash: Experts\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Army Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Night vision goggles may have hampered pilots before DC crash: Experts - Army Times","description":"Aviation experts said the goggles may have created viewing difficulties for the pilots of a U.S. Army helicopter that collided with a jet in January.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Night vision goggles may have hampered pilots before DC crash: Experts","og_description":"Aviation experts said the goggles may have created viewing difficulties for the pilots of a U.S. Army helicopter that collided with a jet in January.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2025\/08\/01\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\/","og_site_name":"Army Times","article_published_time":"2025-08-01T22:30:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T16:06:54+00:00","author":"Josh Funk, The Associated Press","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Josh Funk, The Associated Press","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2025\/08\/01\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2025\/08\/01\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Night vision goggles may have hampered pilots before DC crash: Experts","datePublished":"2025-08-01T22:30:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T16:06:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2025\/08\/01\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\/"},"wordCount":1322,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2025\/08\/01\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25211554000199.jpg_ebc4d4.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","News","Newsletters","Your Army"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2025\/08\/01\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2025\/08\/01\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2025\/08\/01\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\/","name":"Night vision goggles may have hampered pilots before DC crash: Experts - Army Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2025\/08\/01\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2025\/08\/01\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25211554000199.jpg_ebc4d4.jpg","datePublished":"2025-08-01T22:30:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T16:06:54+00:00","description":"Aviation experts said the goggles may have created viewing difficulties for the pilots of a U.S. Army helicopter that collided with a jet in January.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2025\/08\/01\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2025\/08\/01\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2025\/08\/01\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25211554000199.jpg_ebc4d4.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25211554000199.jpg_ebc4d4.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2025\/08\/01\/night-vision-goggles-may-have-hampered-pilots-before-dc-crash-experts\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/","ad_zone":"news"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Your Army","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/","ad_zone":"your-army"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Night vision goggles may have hampered pilots before DC crash: Experts"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","name":"Army Times","description":"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization","name":"Army Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","caption":"Army Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Army Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25211554000199.jpg_ebc4d4.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82496"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82499,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82496\/revisions\/82499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82496"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=82496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}