In deadly D.C. plane crash, city lights may have played a role. See how.

"Though a cause has yet to be determined, and investigators expect to release their findings early next year, one factor could have been the bright skyline around the airport. The National Transportation Safety Board has examined whether those lights could have made it more difficult for the helicopter crew to keep tabs on the plane and whether night vision goggles it believes the crew was using could have made their difficult task even more challenging."

"In the video featured on this page, The Washington Post explores this question by capturing the brightness of the skyline and of inbound aircraft, and combining that with other data to re-create how the plane might have appeared to the helicopter crew through night vision goggles. To do this, we obtained data of the original flights and flew a drone along much of the same route the helicopter took that night, which allowed us to capturethe glow of the Washington-area lights."

Investigators have not determined a cause and expect findings early next year. The National Transportation Safety Board examined whether bright skyline lights made it harder for the helicopter crew to track the plane and whether night vision goggles believed to be in use could have worsened the task. Researchers captured brightness of the skyline and inbound aircraft, combined those data, and re-created how the plane might have appeared through night vision goggles. Flight data were obtained and a drone flown along much of the helicopter's route to capture Washington-area glow. A 3D airspace model reproduced the helicopter's perspective.

Read at The Washington Post