US authorities said on Thursday, the 30th of January, that it was not yet clear why a regional airliner and a US army helicopter collided at a Washington airport, killing 67 people in the worst US plane crash in more than 20 years, while investigators have found the plane’s black boxes to seek for some clarity, reports Reuters.
The American Airlines Bombardier, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers and crashed into the Potomac River on Wednesday evening as it was preparing to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
There were no survivors. The names of all the victims have not been made public, but they included promising young figure skaters and people from Kansas, where the plane had departed from.
Senator Maria Cantwell said that Russian, Filipino and German nationals were among the dead, and the Chinese state media Xinhua reported that two Chinese nationals had died in the crash.
The cockpit voice and flight data recorder of the Bombardier CRJ700 passenger jet was recovered by investigators and is under investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said. An initial report on the incident is expected within 30 days.
NTSB member Todd Inman said the military helicopter had recording devices and either the Department of Defense or the NTSB would examine them.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that both aircraft were flying standard routes on Wednesday and that there was no breakdown in communications. “Everything was business as usual up until the accident,” Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin told Reuters.
President Donald Trump claimed without evidence on Thursday that federal diversity measures in hiring could have been a factor in the crash, echoing ideas that have become a priority of his presidency.
He blamed his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, for lowering hiring standards and suggested that the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) efforts to achieve diversity in the work environment may have made it weaker.
When asked how he could blame diversity, equality and inclusion for the crash without knowing who was to blame, Trump replied, “Because I have common sense.”
An FAA official told Reuters that air traffic controllers undergo rigorous mental and physical tests before being hired.
The Trump administration has provided no evidence to back up these claims and there is no evidence that efforts to diversify the federal workforce have compromised flight safety. Rights groups and Democrats said Trump was politicising the disaster.
Trump also criticised the helicopter pilots and suggested that air traffic controllers were to blame.
The military said the helicopter had a maximum altitude of 61 metres on the route it was flying, but it was probably flying higher. The collision occurred at an altitude of about 91 metres, according to FlightRadar24, a flight-tracking website.
Radio communications showed that air traffic controllers warned the helicopter of the aircraft and ordered it to change course.
According to an informed person, only one controller was on duty at Reagan National Airport that night to handle local traffic, which was described as “not normal” but acceptable situation when traffic is light.
In recent years, the US has been experiencing a shortage of air traffic controllers, resulting in controllers having to work overtime and six-day work weeks, which in turn has raised safety concerns. The FAA claims that it is 3 000 controllers short.
The airspace around the US capital, home to three commercial airports and several major military installations, is also often crowded and officials have expressed concern about the busy runways at Reagan National Airport. A number of close encounters at the airport have caused concern, including a near collision in May 2024.
Trump’s remarks contrasted sharply with those of other officials, who said there was no immediate indication why the crash occurred.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said the pilot of the plane had about six years of experience.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the helicopter was operated by a “fairly experienced crew” of three soldiers who were wearing night vision goggles during the training flight. Officials said they have suspended other flights by the army unit involved in the crash and would reassess training exercises in the region.
It was the worst US air disaster since November 2001, when an American Airlines plane crashed after take-off from John F Kennedy International Airport in New York, killing all 260 people on board and five people on the ground.
The main runway at Reagan National Airport is the busiest in the US, with more than 800 planes taking off and landing every day. The National Transportation Safety Board has investigated nine accidents or incidents at the airport, including two that were fatal, records show.