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

Authorities have actually recuperated 41 bodies after a in Washington DC.

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

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

Washington crash: Follow the latest updates

Federal investigators have actually recuperated the black boxes from the passenger jet, while authorities were still looking for similar devices in the helicopter.

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

The information, first reported by the New York Times, has actually been verified to Sky News’ US partner NBC News by a source acquainted with the investigation.

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It implies a single controller was managing both airplane and helicopter traffic in the location when the 2 airplane collided.

It is allowed – however not optimum – for one controller to do both jobs, NBC News reported.

The American Airlines jet was bring 60 passengers and four crew when it crashed with the Black Hawk helicopter, bring 3 soldiers, referall.us soon before 9pm regional time on Wednesday.

Flight 5342 was preparing to arrive at runway 33 at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when it collided with the helicopter in among the most securely managed airspaces in the world.

‘Em ergency lorries sped past me’

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

Hamaad Raza informed NBC News his other half of 2 years, Asra, had actually “texted me [and] said, ‘We’re landing in 20 minutes'”.

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

Trump makes unverified diversity drive claim

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

It has because been said there is no proof to support the US president’s claim.

Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Mr Trump recommended the diversity efforts had actually made air travel less safe.

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

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

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

The tower generally has a controller who focuses specifically on helicopter traffic – but at the time of the crash, a source said, one controller was overseeing both airplane and helicopter activity.

The FAA, which manages air traffic control as well as accreditation of personnel and airplane, is without a long-term administrator. Its former boss 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 selected an acting administrator, Chris Rocheleau, in the wake of the crash.

Mr Whitaker had clashed with Mr Trump’s confidante Elon Musk over the SpaceX rocket launches throughout his period at the FAA.

Since starting as head of the administration in October 2023, he was likewise forced to respond to Boeing’s safety and quality issues, and worked to hire more air traffic controllers due to a lack of personnel.

Learn more:.
Washington DC aircraft crash: What we understand up until now.
Air traffic control heard diverting planes minutes after accident

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

” We have to have our smartest individuals,” he said. “They have to be naturally skilled geniuses.”

Mr Trump included: “The FAA is actively recruiting employees who suffer extreme intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems, and other mental and physical conditions under a variety and inclusion hiring initiative defined on the firm’s site.”

The American Association of People with Disabilities responded to these claims, saying in a statement on X: “FAA employees with disabilities did not trigger [the] tragic aircraft crash.

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

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

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