Nationwide Transportation Security Board says it’s going to ‘go away no stone unturned’ in probe of midair collision.
Investigators in the US have positioned the black bins from the American Airways jet that crashed right into a US Military helicopter close to Washington, DC, killing all 67 individuals on board.
The Nationwide Transportation Security Board (NTSB) on Friday mentioned it recovered the flight knowledge and cockpit voice recorders from the Bombardier CRJ700 jet that collided with a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter over Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport.
“The recorders are on the NTSB labs for analysis,” the company mentioned in a submit on X.
NTSB Chairman Jennifer Homendy earlier instructed reporters that the company would “go away no stone unturned” in its investigation into the accident, the primary lethal crash involving a US business airliner in additional than 15 years.
“We’re going to conduct a radical investigation of this whole tragedy, trying on the details,” Homendy mentioned.
The announcement comes after US President Donald Trump drew ire for claiming that variety, fairness and inclusion insurance policies (DEI) on the Federal Aviation Administration could have been accountable for the catastrophe.
“These should not individuals who must be doing this explicit job,” Trump mentioned at a information convention, with out specifying whom he was referring to.
“We wish good individuals doing this. This can be a main chess recreation on the highest stage.”
Requested by a reporter how he may draw a hyperlink between the crash and DEI insurance policies when investigations weren’t full, Trump mentioned he had “frequent sense”.
Trump’s feedback prompted condemnation from Democrats and incapacity rights teams, together with the Nationwide Incapacity Rights Community, which branded his assertion “irresponsible, disparaging, and improper”.
Pete Buttigieg, who served as transportation secretary beneath former US President Joe Biden, referred to as the feedback “despicable”.
“As households grieve, Trump must be main, not mendacity. We put security first, drove down shut calls, grew Air Visitors Management, and had zero business airline crash fatalities out of tens of millions of flights on our watch,” Buttigieg mentioned on X.
Earlier than the scheduled touchdown of American Airways plane Flight 5342 at Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport on Wednesday, air site visitors controllers requested the pilots if they may land on Runway 33, and flight monitoring websites confirmed that they adjusted their flight path to satisfy the request.
Lower than 30 seconds earlier than the midair collision, an air site visitors controller requested the crew of the military helicopter if it may see the approaching aircraft.
The crash was the primary lethal incident involving a US business airline since 2009 when Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed right into a home close to Buffalo, New York, killing all 49 individuals on board and one particular person on the bottom.
Authorities have up to now recovered about 40 our bodies from the Potomac River.
Whereas officers haven’t launched a full record of the victims, they embody two former world champion determine skaters, two Chinese language nationals, a gaggle of associates who had been on a duck-hunting journey, and the crews of the 2 plane.
Reagan Nationwide, positioned in Arlington, Virginia, is the closest airport to Washington, DC, located lower than 8km (5 miles) from the US capital.
The airport is well-liked with many travellers due to its proximity to Washington, DC, in contrast with the bigger Dulles Worldwide Airport, which is about 37km (23 miles) additional away.
