Threads posts
Threads posts
stated on January 31, 2025 in a Threads post:

The Black Hawk helicopter involved in the American Airlines crash “was being controlled remotely.”

False

The Black Hawk helicopter in the American Airlines crash was piloted, not autonomous

If your time is short

  • Three crew members aboard the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Airlines jet Jan. 29 in Washington, D.C., have been identified and two of their bodies were recovered Feb. 1.

  • Jonathan Koziol, chief of staff for the U.S. Army’s aviation directorate, said the Black Hawk helicopter involved in the incident had no AI capability.

See the sources for this fact-check

Authorities have identified all three soldiers aboard the Black Hawk Helicopter that collided with an American Airlines jet over the Potomac River on Jan. 29. Yet some social media users said the aircraft was flying autonomously when the Washington, D.C., crash occurred.

“The Blackhawk in question, did not have a physical body in the aircraft and was being controlled remotely,” a Jan. 31 Threads post said. “Planned or not planned, there were no pilots inside the chopper.”

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

This is wrong. The U.S. Army released the names of the helicopter’s three crew members: Capt. Rebecca Lobach, Staff. Sgt. Ryan O’Hara and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves. A law enforcement source told CBS News Feb. 1 that two of the crew members’ bodies had been recovered.

The military helicopter was on a training flight to practice evacuating government officials during an emergency, Jonathan Koziol, chief of staff for the Army’s aviation directorate, said.

The U.S. military is testing technology to autonomously fly Black Hawk helicopters. But the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with the American Airlines jet was not using that technology.

Koziol told Defense Scoop, a publication about the U.S. military’s technology, that the helicopter in the accident “did not have any AI capability.” Koziol said such AI testing would be done away from populated areas.

We did not immediately receive a response after asking the Military District of Washington whether the Black Hawk helicopter in the collision or any other Black Hawk helicopters use autonomous technologies.

We rate the claim that the Black Hawk helicopter involved in the American Airlines crash “was being controlled remotely” False.