The Army pilots were juggling dark skies, low altitude, a busy airspace and a cockpit without certain traffic detectors before the helicopter’s midair crash with a regional passenger jet.

Victims' families gathered near the site where a plane and copter collided and fell into the Potomac River. 'They are all hurt,' an official said.

A military helicopter was flying above the maximum altitude for its route when it collided with a passenger plane near Washington D.C. last week, authorities said. The National Transportation Safety Board said in an update on Tuesday that it obtained data,

Data from air traffic control radar showed the military chopper was flying at 300 feet on the air traffic control display at the time of the fiery crash, according to the NTSB.