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

Authorities have actually recuperated 41 bodies after a plane 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 identified.

Both airplane crashed into the Potomac River after the accident. Some 300 workers were sent out to the scene, however the rescue soon became a recovery objective as authorities said there were no survivors.

Washington crash: Follow the current updates

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

Meanwhile, referall.us in the middle of 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 let a controller leave their shift early.

The detail, initially reported by the New york city Times, has been validated to Sky News’ US News by a source familiar with the investigation.

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It suggests a single controller was managing both aircraft and helicopter traffic in the area when the two aircraft clashed.

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

The American Airlines jet was bring 60 travelers and 4 crew when it crashed with the Black Hawk helicopter, carrying three soldiers, quickly before 9pm local time on Wednesday.

Flight 5342 was preparing to land on runway 33 at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when it hit the helicopter in one of the most firmly controlled airspaces in the world.

‘Em ergency lorries sped past me’

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

Hamaad Raza told NBC News his spouse of 2 years, Asra, had actually “texted me [and] stated, ‘We’re landing in 20 minutes'”.

” I was waiting and I began seeing a lot of EMS vehicles speeding past me … way a lot of, [more] than regular and my texts weren’t going through.”

Trump makes unverified variety drive claim

Donald Trump has actually connected a diversity drive at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under previous governments to the crash.

It has because 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 actually made air travel less safe.

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

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

The FAA, which controls air traffic control as well as certification of workers and aircraft, is without a long-term administrator. Its former 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 designated an acting administrator, Chris Rocheleau, in the wake of the crash.

Mr Whitaker had clashed with Mr Trump’s confidante Elon Musk over the SpaceX rocket launches throughout his period at the FAA.

Since starting as head of the administration in October 2023, he was also required to react to Boeing’s safety and quality issues, and worked to hire more air traffic controllers due to a lack of personnel.

Learn more:.
Washington DC aircraft crash: What we understand so far.
Air traffic control heard diverting airplanes moments after crash

At his briefing, Mr Trump blamed previous president Joe Biden for reducing requirements for air traffic controllers.

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

Mr Trump included: “The FAA is actively hiring workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems, and other psychological and physical conditions under a variety and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency’s site.”

The American Association of People with Disabilities reacted to these claims, saying in a statement on X: “FAA workers with disabilities did not trigger [the] tragic plane crash.

” The investigation into the crash is still ongoing. It is extremely unsuitable for the president to use this tragedy to push 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 greatest requirements of air traffic controllers”.

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