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 been identified.

Both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River after the collision. Some 300 workers were sent out to the scene, but the rescue quickly became a recovery mission as officials said there were no survivors.

Washington crash: Follow the most recent updates

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

Meanwhile, amidst concerns 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 actually let a controller leave their shift early.

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

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

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

The American Airlines jet was carrying 60 passengers and 4 team when it crashed with the Black Hawk helicopter, bring three soldiers, shortly 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 one of the most tightly controlled airspaces in the world.

‘Em ergency cars sped past me’

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

Hamaad Raza informed NBC News his wife of two years, Asra, had “texted me [and] said, ‘We’re landing in 20 minutes'”.

” I was waiting and I started seeing a bunch of EMS cars 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 diversity drive at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under previous governments to the crash.

It has actually because been stated there is no evidence to support the US president’s claim.

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

At a White House press briefing on Friday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated Mr Trump had actually signed a memorandum directing an instant 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 regular”, according to an initial FAA report.

The tower normally has a controller who focuses particularly on helicopter traffic – but at the time of the crash, a source said, one controller was supervising both plane and helicopter activity.

The FAA, which controls air traffic control service along with certification of personnel and aircraft, is without a long-term 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 appointed 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 as head of the administration in October 2023, he was also forced to react to Boeing’s safety and quality issues, and worked to work with more air traffic controllers due to a scarcity of personnel.

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

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

Mr Trump added: “The FAA is actively recruiting employees who suffer severe intellectual specials needs, psychiatric issues, and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the company’s site.”

The American Association of People with Disabilities responded to these claims, referall.us saying in a declaration on X: “FAA workers with impairments did not trigger [the] terrible plane crash.

” The investigation into the crash is still continuous. It is incredibly unsuitable for the president to utilize this tragedy 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 recently, 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 answered: “It may have, I don’t know.