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

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

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

Both airplane crashed into the Potomac River after the accident. Some 300 personnel were sent to the scene, however the rescue quickly became a healing mission as officials stated there were no survivors.

Washington crash: Follow the current updates

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

Meanwhile, job amid questions 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 information, first reported by the New york city Times, has actually been verified to Sky News’ US partner NBC News by a source familiar with the examination.

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It indicates a single controller was handling both airplane and in the area when the two aircraft clashed.

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

The American Airlines jet was carrying 60 guests and 4 team when it crashed with the Black Hawk helicopter, carrying three soldiers, soon 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 among the most tightly controlled airspaces in the world.

‘Em ergency automobiles sped past me’

A male 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 spouse of 2 years, Asra, had “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 linked a variety drive at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under previous federal governments to the crash.

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

Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Mr Trump suggested the diversity efforts had made air travel less safe.

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

While Mr Trump’s claim appears to have been debunked, 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 typically has a controller who focuses specifically on helicopter traffic – but at the time of the crash, a source stated, one controller was managing both aircraft and helicopter activity.

The FAA, which manages air traffic control as well as accreditation 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 actually appointed an acting administrator, Chris Rocheleau, job in the wake of the crash.

Mr Whitaker had clashed with 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 required to react to Boeing’s safety and job quality issues, and worked to hire more air traffic controllers due to a scarcity of staff.

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Washington DC airplane crash: What we understand so far.
Air traffic control service heard diverting airplanes moments after crash

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

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

Mr Trump added: “The FAA is actively hiring workers who suffer severe intellectual specials needs, psychiatric issues, and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and addition hiring initiative defined on the agency’s website.”

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

” The investigation into the crash is still continuous. It is extremely inappropriate for 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 stated after being sworn in last week, he signed an executive order which “restored the highest standards of air traffic controllers”.

At a later instruction, he was asked if gender or race contributed. He responded to: “It may have, job I don’t know.