Washington midair crash: What we know so far

Washington (AFP) – A US commercial airliner with 64 people aboard and a military helicopter collided over Washington on Wednesday before crashing into the Potomac River. A rescue mission had turned into a recovery operation by Thursday, with no survivors expected.

Here’s what we know so far:

**What happened?**

Just before 9:00 pm (0200 GMT Thursday), a Bombardier jet operated by American Airlines subsidiary PSA was approaching Reagan National Airport when it collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter. American Eagle Flight 5342 was flying to the US capital from Wichita, Kansas — typically a journey time of just under three hours. Air traffic controllers asked the jet to switch its landing route from one runway to another shortly before the crash, according to The New York Times, which added this was a routine request for regional flights. Ahead of the crash, controllers warned the helicopter it was on course to collide with the passenger jet. Footage from the nearby Kennedy Center captured a small aircraft heading towards a well-lit descending plane before a fireball can be seen. Both plunged into the Potomac River, with the plane fuselage splitting into three separate pieces.

**No survivors**

Authorities say they do not expect any survivors from the crash, and were on Thursday working to recover 67 bodies from the river. American Airlines reported 60 passengers and four crew members were aboard the flight, while three US Army personnel were on the helicopter, according to a military official. The plane was carrying athletes and coaches from the elite figure skating world, including former Russian world pairs champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov. US Figure Skating said “several” members of its community were aboard the flight. The plane pilot was identified by US media as Sam Lilley, a 28-year-old with six years experience at American Airlines, and who was engaged to be married.

**Complex recovery operation**

Washington fire chief John Donnelly said a large-scale and “highly complex” recovery operation was launched Wednesday night. Boats were still on the water Thursday looking for victims and wreckage. Water conditions were cold enough for hypothermia to set in within 30 minutes, according to experts, and some debris had spread downriver into Maryland. None of the so-called black box flight recorders had been located as of Thursday afternoon, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said, adding they were believed to be underwater.

**Was it avoidable?**

Both aircraft were on standard flight patterns on a clear night with good visibility, albeit in an airspace that is extremely busy with military and commercial craft. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said those aboard the helicopter — a captain, staff sergeant, and chief warrant officer — were a “fairly experienced crew.” Authorities said the weather Wednesday night was clear, with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy adding that the crash was “absolutely” preventable. President Donald Trump told a news conference that the American Airlines plane was “doing everything right” before the collision. “You had a pilot problem from the standpoint of the helicopter,” Trump said. “You could have done a million different maneuvers. For some reason, it just kept going.”

**Investigation underway**

The New York Times reported that staffing in Reagan National’s air traffic control tower was “not normal,” citing an internal preliminary Federal Aviation Administration report. A controller was monitoring both planes and helicopters — jobs that “typically are assigned to two controllers, rather than one,” the newspaper reported. The NTSB, the federal agency that probes civilian transportation accidents, said it will leave “no stone unturned” in its investigation into the incident. After the crash, Trump blamed so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion policies under presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden for poor safety standards, building on the Republican’s wider attacks on DEI practices since he took office last week. Asked about the president’s claims, NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters: “As part of any investigation, we look at the human, the machine, and the environment.”

© 2024 AFP