The Army helicopter that collided with a passenger jet last week in Washington had its tracking technology turned off at the time of the crash, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz told the New York Times.

The U.S. Army helicopter that collided with an passenger jet near Washington, D.C., had an advanced surveillance system turned off.

Technology that would have allowed air traffic controllers to better track the movement of an Army helicopter was turned off at the time of the crash, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said in an interview Thursday.

The pilots of the US Army helicopter that collided with an American Airlines Group Inc. regional jet near Washington last week were likely wearing night-vision goggles at the time of the accident.

In the deadliest U.S. major commercial aviation incident in 16 years, there were no survivors in a collision between a commercial aircraft and an Army helicopter by Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington D.

Flight data posted online appears to show another Army helicopter flying higher than the maximum altitude allowed around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C., before last week’s fatal collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger plane.