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

Authorities have recovered 41 bodies after an aircraft 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 actually been determined.

Both airplane crashed into the Potomac River after the crash. Some 300 personnel were sent out to the scene, but the rescue soon became a healing mission as officials said there were no survivors.

Washington crash: Follow the newest updates

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

Meanwhile, in the middle of questions 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 supervisor had let a controller leave their shift early.

The detail, initially reported by the New York Times, has actually been verified to Sky News’ US partner NBC News by a source knowledgeable about the investigation.

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It means a single controller was dealing with both plane and helicopter traffic in the area when the 2 aircraft clashed.

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

The American Airlines jet was bring 60 travelers and four crew when it crashed with the Black Hawk helicopter, carrying three soldiers, shortly 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 firmly managed airspaces in the world.

‘Em ergency vehicles sped past me’

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

Hamaad Raza told NBC News his partner of two years, Asra, had “texted me [and] said, ‘We’re landing in 20 minutes'”.

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

Trump makes unproven diversity drive claim

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

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

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

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

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

NBC News reported staffing in the control tower was “not normal”, 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 stated, one controller was supervising both plane and helicopter activity.

The FAA, which manages air traffic control service in addition to accreditation of personnel and airplane, is without an irreversible 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 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 respond to Boeing’s security and quality problems, and worked to employ more air traffic controllers due to a lack of staff.

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

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

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

Mr Trump added: “The FAA is actively hiring employees who suffer serious intellectual specials needs, psychiatric problems, and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and addition hiring initiative spelled out on the company’s website.”

The American Association of People with Disabilities reacted to these claims, stating in a statement on X: “FAA employees with disabilities did not trigger [the] terrible airplane crash.

” The investigation into the crash is still ongoing. It is extremely inappropriate for the president to use this tragedy to push an anti-diversity hiring program. Doing so makes all Americans less safe.”

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Mr Trump stated after being sworn in recently, he signed an executive order which “brought back the highest standards of air traffic controllers”.

At a later rundown, he was asked if gender or race contributed. He answered: “It may have, I do not understand.