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

Authorities have recuperated 41 bodies after a plane crash in Washington DC.

Sixty-seven people were killed when an American Airlines jet and employment a military helicopter clashed mid-air on Wednesday night. Up until now, 28 bodies have 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 developed into a healing mission as officials said there were no survivors.

Washington crash: Follow the current updates

Federal investigators have actually the black boxes from the passenger jet, employment while authorities were still looking for comparable gadgets 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 validated that an air traffic control manager had actually let a controller leave their shift early.

The detail, employment first reported by the New york city Times, has actually been validated to Sky News’ US partner NBC News by a source familiar with the investigation.

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

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

The American Airlines jet was bring 60 guests and four team when it crashed with the Black Hawk helicopter, bring 3 soldiers, shortly before 9pm local time on Wednesday.

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

‘Em ergency automobiles sped past me’

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

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

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

Trump makes unverified variety drive claim

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

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

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

At a White House press rundown on Friday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated Mr Trump had actually signed a memorandum directing an instant assessment of FAA employing choices made throughout 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 air traffic control tower was “not normal”, according to a preliminary FAA report.

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

The FAA, which controls air traffic control service in addition to certification of personnel and aircraft, lacks an irreversible administrator. Its previous employer Michael Whitaker stepped down on 20 January – the day of Mr Trump’s inauguration.

Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app Mr Trump has designated 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 period at the FAA.

Since beginning as head of the administration in October 2023, he was also required to respond to Boeing’s security and quality problems, and worked to employ more air traffic controllers due to a scarcity of personnel.

Read more:.
Washington DC plane crash: What we understand so far.
Air traffic control service heard diverting aircrafts minutes after collision

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

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

Mr Trump added: “The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual specials needs, psychiatric problems, and other psychological 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 declaration on X: “FAA staff members with specials needs did not cause [the] terrible airplane crash.

” The investigation into the crash is still ongoing. It is incredibly unsuitable for the president to use this disaster 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 briefing, he was asked if gender or race contributed. He responded to: “It may have, I do not know.