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 a military helicopter clashed mid-air on Wednesday night. Up until now, 28 bodies have actually been recognized.

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

Washington crash: Follow the latest updates

Federal private investigators have recovered the black boxes from the traveler jet, while authorities were still browsing for comparable devices 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 confirmed that an air traffic control supervisor had let a controller leave their shift early.

The detail, first reported by the New York Times, has been verified to Sky News’ US partner NBC News by a source acquainted with the investigation.

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

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

The American Airlines jet was bring 60 travelers and 4 crew when it crashed with the Black Hawk helicopter, bring three soldiers, soon before 9pm regional 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 in the world.

‘Em ergency cars sped past me’

A guy whose other half 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 better half of 2 years, Asra, had “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 … way too lots 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 since been stated there is no proof 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 briefing on Friday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Mr Trump had signed a memorandum directing an immediate evaluation of FAA employing 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 typically has a controller who focuses specifically on helicopter traffic – but at the time of the crash, a source stated, employment one controller was supervising both aircraft and helicopter activity.

The FAA, which manages air traffic control service in addition to accreditation of personnel and aircraft, lacks a permanent administrator. Its previous 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 actually selected an acting administrator, Chris Rocheleau, in the wake of the crash.

Mr Whitaker had clashed with 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 react to Boeing’s security and quality problems, and worked to work with more air traffic controllers due to a of personnel.

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

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

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

Mr Trump included: “The FAA is actively hiring workers who suffer serious intellectual disabilities, psychiatric issues, and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative defined on the agency’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 cause [the] terrible airplane crash.

” The investigation into the crash is still ongoing. It is extremely unsuitable for the president to utilize 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 last week, he signed an executive order which “restored the highest requirements of air traffic controllers”.

At a later instruction, he was asked if gender or race played a role. He answered: “It may have, I don’t know.