BOSTON (WHDH) - U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the pilots aboard the U.S. Army Helicopter that collided with an American Airlines plane were wearing night vision goggles.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), night vision goggles were designed to enhance operational safety and improve the pilot’s ability to see and avoid obstructions at night.

Tony Tsantles, a former Blackhawk pilot and night vision expert, spent the first five years of his army career in the D.C. area. He says he does not believe wearing the goggles would hurt their ability to see the aircraft.

Tsantles also says these helicopters are designed to adjust and can basically come to a complete stop if need be.

“It is a very equipped aircraft, its very stable,” said Tsantles. “And maneuverability is really, in my opinion, second to none. You could bring that thing to a hover with very little execution. In less that eight to 10 seconds, you could bring that thing to a complete stop, given the ability of the pilot to execute… What those goggles do is, give you the same vision you would otherwise have during the day for a pilot.”

Tsantles notes it’s hard to speculate where the failures occurred in Wednesday’s crash.

The goggles and the helicopter itself will be apart of the investigation.

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