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

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

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

Both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River after the accident. Some 300 personnel were sent out to the scene, but the rescue quickly became a healing objective as authorities said there were no survivors.

Washington crash: Follow the most recent updates

Federal detectives have recuperated the black boxes from the passenger jet, while authorities were still looking for comparable gadgets in the helicopter.

Meanwhile, amidst questions over how well the airport’s control tower was staffed on the night of the crash, it’s been confirmed that an air traffic control manager had let a their shift early.

The detail, first reported by the New York Times, has been verified to Sky News’ US partner NBC News by a source familiar with the examination.

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

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

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

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

‘Em ergency cars sped past me’

A man whose better half was on the flight has recalled how he saw emergency services «speeding past» as he was waiting at the airport to choose her up.

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

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

Trump makes unproven variety drive claim

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

It has considering that been stated there is no proof to support the US president’s claim.

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

At a White House press briefing on Friday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated Mr Trump had actually signed a memorandum directing an instant assessment of FAA working with decisions made during the previous administration.

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

NBC News reported staffing in the air traffic control tower was «not typical», according to an initial FAA report.

The tower typically has a controller who focuses particularly on helicopter traffic – however at the time of the crash, a source said, one controller was supervising both plane and helicopter activity.

The FAA, which manages air traffic control service along with certification of workers and aircraft, lacks a long-term administrator. Its previous 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 selected an acting administrator, Chris Rocheleau, in the wake of the crash.

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

Since beginning as head of the administration in October 2023, he was likewise forced to respond to Boeing’s security and quality problems, and worked to employ more air traffic controllers due to a lack of staff.

Find out more:.
Washington DC aircraft crash: What we understand up until now.
Air traffic control heard diverting aircrafts moments after accident

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

» We have to have our most intelligent people,» he said. «They need to be naturally skilled geniuses.»

Mr Trump included: «The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems, and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and addition hiring initiative spelled out on the firm’s website.»

The American Association of People with Disabilities reacted to these claims, stating in a declaration on X: «FAA workers with impairments did not cause [the] awful airplane crash.

» The examination into the crash is still ongoing. It is exceptionally inappropriate for the president to utilize this tragedy to push an anti-diversity hiring agenda. Doing so makes all Americans less safe.»

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Mr Trump stated after being sworn in last week, he signed an executive order which «brought back the highest requirements of air traffic controllers».

At a later rundown, he was asked if gender or race played a function. He responded to: «It might have, I don’t understand.