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

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

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

Both airplane crashed into the Potomac River after the accident. Some 300 workers were sent out to the scene, however the rescue soon turned into a recovery objective as authorities said there were no survivors.

Washington crash: Follow the latest updates

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

Meanwhile, amidst questions over how well the airport’s was staffed on the night of the crash, it’s been verified that an air traffic control service supervisor had actually 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 familiar with the investigation.

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It means a single controller was handling both aircraft and helicopter traffic in the location when the two aircraft collided.

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

The American Airlines jet was carrying 60 guests and four team when it crashed with the Black Hawk helicopter, carrying 3 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 hit the helicopter in among the most firmly controlled airspaces worldwide.

‘Em ergency vehicles sped past me’

A male 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 two years, Asra, had actually “texted me [and] stated, ‘We’re landing in 20 minutes'”.

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

Trump makes unproven diversity drive claim

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

It has given that been said there is no evidence to support the US president’s claim.

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

At a White House press rundown on Friday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated Mr Trump had signed a memorandum directing an immediate evaluation of FAA working with choices made throughout 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 typical”, according to a preliminary FAA report.

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

The FAA, which controls air traffic control service as well as accreditation of personnel and airplane, employment is without a permanent administrator. Its former 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 throughout his period at the FAA.

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

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

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

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

Mr Trump included: “The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer serious intellectual impairments, psychiatric problems, and other psychological and physical conditions under a variety and addition hiring effort defined on the company’s website.”

The American Association of People with Disabilities responded to these claims, stating in a declaration on X: “FAA workers with specials needs did not trigger [the] terrible aircraft crash.

” The investigation into the crash is still ongoing. It is extremely unsuitable for the president to utilize this catastrophe to press an anti-diversity hiring program. 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 greatest 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.