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

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

Both airplane crashed into the Potomac River after the crash. Some 300 personnel were sent out to the scene, however the rescue soon developed into a recovery mission as authorities said there were no survivors.

Washington crash: Follow the most current updates

Federal investigators have actually 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 verified that an air traffic control supervisor had let a controller leave their shift early.

The information, first reported by the New york city Times, has been validated to Sky News’ US partner NBC News by a source knowledgeable about the investigation.

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It indicates a single controller was managing both airplane and helicopter traffic in the area when the two aircraft 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 three soldiers, quickly before 9pm regional 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 among the most firmly managed airspaces worldwide.

‘Em ergency lorries sped past me’

A male whose other half was on the flight has recalled how he saw emergency services “speeding past” as he was waiting at the airport to pick her up.

Hamaad Raza informed NBC News his wife of 2 years, Asra, had actually “texted me [and] said, ‘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 normal and my texts weren’t going through.”

Trump makes unproven diversity drive claim

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

It has actually considering 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 diversity efforts had actually made air travel less safe.

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

While Mr Trump’s claim appears to have actually been exposed, there are concerns 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 generally has a controller who focuses specifically on helicopter traffic – however at the time of the crash, a source said, one controller was managing both plane and referall.us helicopter activity.

The FAA, which manages air traffic control in addition to accreditation of personnel and aircraft, somalibidders.com is without 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 encountered Mr Trump’s confidante Elon Musk over the SpaceX rocket launches during his tenure at the FAA.

Since starting 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 lack of staff.

Find out more:.
Washington DC airplane crash: What we know up until now.
Air traffic control service heard diverting aircrafts minutes after collision

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

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

Mr Trump added: “The FAA is actively recruiting employees who suffer severe intellectual specials needs, psychiatric issues, and other psychological and physical conditions under a diversity and addition hiring initiative defined 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 impairments did not trigger [the] awful aircraft crash.

” The investigation into the crash is still ongoing. It is very improper for the president to utilize this tragedy 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 “brought back the highest standards of air traffic controllers”.

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