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

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

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

Both airplane crashed into the Potomac River after the accident. Some 300 workers were sent to the scene, but the rescue soon developed into a healing mission as officials stated there were no survivors.

Washington crash: Follow the current updates

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

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

The detail, employment initially 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 implies a single controller was managing both airplane and helicopter traffic in the location when the two aircraft collided.

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

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

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

‘Em ergency automobiles sped past me’

A male whose better half 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 partner of 2 years, Asra, had actually “texted me [and] stated, ‘We’re landing in 20 minutes'”.

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

Trump makes unverified variety drive claim

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

It has actually given that been stated 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 made air travel less safe.

At a White House press rundown on Friday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Mr Trump had actually signed a memorandum directing an immediate evaluation of FAA working with choices made during 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 an initial FAA report.

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

The FAA, which controls air traffic control in addition to certification of workers and aircraft, is without an irreversible 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 appointed an acting administrator, Chris Rocheleau, in the wake of the crash.

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

Since beginning as head of the administration in October 2023, he was also forced to react to Boeing’s safety and quality problems, and worked to hire more air traffic controllers due to a shortage of staff.

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

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

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

Mr Trump added: “The FAA is actively hiring workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric issues, and other mental and physical conditions under a variety and addition hiring initiative defined on the firm’s site.”

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

” The examination into the crash is still continuous. It is exceptionally inappropriate for employment the president to use 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 recently, he signed an executive order which “restored the highest requirements of air traffic controllers”.

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