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The National Transportation Safety Board says it has recovered two so-called “black boxes” from the American Airlines regional jet, following the deadly collision with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday evening.
The devices, a cockpit voice recorder and a flight data recorder, have taken them for lab analysis, according to a NTSB spokesman.
The NTSB previously promised to “leave no stone unturned” in their investigation. Whether human or mechanical factors contributed to the crash that left 67 people dead is not yet clear, officials said.
A preliminary report by the Federal Aviation Administration found that staffing at the Ronald Reagan Airport air traffic control tower was “not normal” at the time of the deadly collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet.
The internal report, released on Thursday and reviewed by The New York Times said the controller who was handling helicopters in the airport’s vicinity on Wednesday night was also instructing planes that were landing and departing from its runways.
These jobs are typically assigned to two different controllers.
At a press briefing hours earlier, President Donald Trump linked the FAA’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies to the incident.
Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding react to deaths of ice skaters in DC plane crash
Ice skating legends Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding have given emotional responses to the devastating deaths of fellow figure skaters in the Washington DC plane crash.
Amber Raiken has more:
‘You want me to go swimming?’: Trump says he won’t visit DC plane crash site because it’s ‘the water‘
Donald Trump responded sarcastically to questions about whether he would be visiting the site of the deadly crash over the Potomac River in Washington D.C., asking reporters at the White House: “You want me to go swimming?”
The president said on Thursday he would be meeting with some of the families of victims of the tragedy, which occurred at Ronald Reagan Airport Wednesday night. All 67 people involved in the crash are presumed dead, authorities said previously.
Read more here:
Recap: What we know so far about the mid-air collision near Reagan Airport
There are likely no survivors after an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter crashed midair near Washington, D.C, Wednesday evening, officials have said.
Flight 5342 from Kansas was on the final approach to Ronald Reagan National Airport when it collided with the Black Hawk helicopter before exploding a huge fireball. There were 67 people aboard the two flights when they crashed.
Here is everything we know about the first commercial airline crash in the U.S. since 2009:
Staffing at air traffic control tower ‘not normal’ during Washington plane crash, FAA report reveals
Air traffic control staffing at Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” on Wednesday night when a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines jet collided mid-air, according to a new report.
Katie Hawkinson has more:
Both of the passenger planes’ ‘black boxes’ recovered
Both of the flight data recorders – known as black boxes – from the passenger aircraft that collided with a military helicopter at DCA has been recovered from the Potomac River, authorities told CNN.
The two devices will now be taken to labs to examine their contents.
Trump responds to question of crash-site visit: ‘You want me to go swimming?’
Footage shows American Airlines plane wreckage in Potomac River
Recap: Trump baselessly blames D.C. plane crash that killed 67 on DEI and Biden
President Donald Trump used a deadly air crash that killed three Army aviators and 64 passengers and crew aboard an American Airlines jet to attack his two Democratic predecessors and falsely suggest the tragedy was the result of diversity initiatives in government.
In his first visit to the White House briefing room since returning to the presidency last week, Trump initially offered a moment of silence for the victims and praised the efforts of first responders after the crash, which took place just before 9 p.m. ET at Reagan National Airport outside Washington.
Read more here:
In pictures: U.S. Park Police helicopters attend the scene in DC
Over 40 bodies recovered from Potomac river since crash
CNN reports that more than 40 bodies have been removed from the Potomac River as of late Thursday afternoon, citing sources with knowledge of official operations.
Dive operations were concluded for the day due to daylight, conditions on the water and the belief that most of the victims that can be reached without removing parts of the aircraft from the water have already been recovered, a law enforcement source told the outlet.
All 67 people involved in the crash are presumed dead, authorities said previously.
Source: independent.co.uk
