Washington DC Plane Crash: Authorities Recover 41 Bodies After Mid-air Collision

Authorities have actually recovered 41 bodies after an aircraft crash in Washington DC.

Sixty-seven people were eliminated when an American Airlines jet and a military helicopter clashed mid-air on Wednesday night. So far, 28 bodies have actually been identified.

Both airplane crashed into the Potomac River after the collision. Some 300 workers were sent out to the scene, however the rescue quickly became a healing mission as officials stated there were no survivors.

Washington crash: Follow the most recent updates

Federal investigators have recovered the black boxes from the passenger jet, while authorities were still browsing for comparable gadgets in the helicopter.

Meanwhile, amidst concerns over how well the airport’s control tower was staffed on the night of the crash, it’s been validated that an air traffic control service supervisor had let a controller leave their shift early.

The detail, first reported by the New york city Times, has actually been confirmed to Sky News’ US partner NBC News by a source knowledgeable about the investigation.

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It means a single controller was managing both plane and helicopter traffic in the location when the 2 aircraft collided.

It is allowable – but not ideal – for one controller to do both jobs, NBC News reported.

The American Airlines jet was bring 60 travelers and four team when it crashed with the Black Hawk helicopter, carrying three soldiers, quickly before 9pm regional time on Wednesday.

Flight 5342 was preparing to land on runway 33 at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when it collided with the helicopter in one of the most tightly controlled airspaces worldwide.

‘Em ergency vehicles sped past me’

A guy whose partner was on the flight has remembered how he saw emergency services “speeding past” as he was waiting at the airport to pick her up.

Hamaad Raza informed NBC News his wife of two years, Asra, referall.us had actually “texted me [and] stated, ‘We’re landing in 20 minutes'”.

” I was waiting and I began seeing a bunch of EMS cars speeding past me … method a lot of, [more] than normal and my texts weren’t going through.”

Trump makes unproven variety drive claim

Donald Trump has actually linked a diversity drive at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under previous governments to the crash.

It has actually considering that been said there is no evidence to support the US president’s claim.

Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Mr Trump suggested the variety efforts had actually made flight less safe.

At a White House press instruction on Friday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated Mr Trump had signed a memorandum directing an of FAA working with choices made throughout the previous administration.

While Mr Trump’s claim appears to have actually been unmasked, there are concerns over staffing at Reagan Washington National Airport.

NBC News reported staffing in the air traffic control tower was “not normal”, according to a preliminary FAA report.

The tower normally has a controller who focuses specifically on helicopter traffic – but at the time of the crash, a source stated, one controller was managing both aircraft and helicopter activity.

The FAA, which controls air traffic control service in addition to accreditation of workers and aircraft, is without a long-term administrator. Its former manager Michael Whitaker stepped down on 20 January – the day of Mr Trump’s inauguration.

Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app Mr Trump has actually appointed an acting administrator, Chris Rocheleau, in the wake of the crash.

Mr Whitaker had actually encountered Mr Trump’s confidante Elon Musk over the SpaceX rocket launches throughout his tenure at the FAA.

Since beginning as head of the administration in October 2023, he was likewise required to react to Boeing’s safety and quality problems, and worked to employ more air traffic controllers due to a lack of personnel.

Find out more:.
Washington DC airplane crash: What we know up until now.
Air traffic control service heard diverting airplanes minutes after crash

At his instruction, Mr Trump blamed former president Joe Biden for decreasing requirements for air traffic controllers.

” We have to have our most intelligent people,” he stated. “They have to be naturally gifted geniuses.”

Mr Trump included: “The FAA is actively hiring workers who suffer serious intellectual specials needs, psychiatric problems, and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative defined on the agency’s site.”

The American Association of People with Disabilities reacted to these claims, stating in a declaration on X: “FAA staff members with disabilities did not trigger [the] awful aircraft crash.

” The examination into the crash is still ongoing. It is very improper for the president to utilize this catastrophe to press an anti-diversity hiring agenda. Doing so makes all Americans less safe.”

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Mr Trump said after being sworn in last week, he signed an executive order which “brought back the greatest standards of air traffic controllers”.

At a later instruction, he was asked if gender or race played a function. He addressed: “It might have, I do not know.