The helicopter that crashed into a passenger jet in Washington DC was flying 100ft higher than its altitude limit and was veering off course, according to flight tracking data.

As the Black Hawk flew over the Potomac River, it climbed over the 200ft limit to 300ft and turned towards the centre of the water, away from what is understood to have been the standard route for military helicopters, according to data obtained by CNN.

The helicopter’s change of direction towards Washington’s Reagan National Airport as American Airlines flight 5342 was preparing to land resulted in the collision that killed 67 people, according to FlightRadar24.

Ian Petchenik, a spokesman for the flight tracking company, said the conclusion that the change in direction of the Black Hawk military helicopter led to the crash was a “fair assessment”.

Donald Trump earlier blamed the helicopter for the disaster, saying it was flying too high “by a lot” and far above a “200 foot limit”. “That’s not really too complicated to understand, is it?” he added.