A passenger plane and a military helicopter collided in mid-air near Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport, resulting in a catastrophic crash and the deaths of 67 people. New video footage reveals the collision angle, while authorities investigate the helicopter's altitude and air traffic control procedures.
A new, clearer vision has emerged from the deadly midair collision between a passenger plane and a military helicopter in Washington. Footage, obtained and published first by CNN, shows the helicopter and jet appearing to meet at essentially a right angle just outside the airport. The footage concurs with the known flight paths of the two aircraft, with the helicopter travelling south along the river while the American Airlines flight turned north-west to land on runway 33.
In one video, reportedly captured from a security camera at the airport, the two aircraft are seen bursting into flames upon collision before falling into the Potomac.Attention has focused on the helicopter’s altitude, said to be too high for the prescribed path it was following, and broader and long-standing concerns about the volume of helicopter traffic near Ronald Reagan National Airport and staffing at air traffic control centres. On Friday afternoon, US time, the Federal Aviation Administration announced it was immediately restricting helicopter access to the Potomac River around Reagan airport, in an area stretching from Arlington Memorial Bridge in the north to Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge in the south. Emergency medical, police and defence flights would be exempt, the FAA said, but all other operations would be prohibited. The restrictions will stay in place until the National Transportation Safety Board completes its preliminary investigation – due within 30 days – and then reviewed. Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said the decision was made with the support of US President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to ensure safety at the US capital’s busy downtown airport.Meanwhile, Trump continued to front-run the crash investigation, posting on his TruthSocial platform: “The Blackhawk helicopter was flying too high, by a lot. It was far above the 200-foot limit. That’s not really too complicated to understand, is it???” Hegseth was more circumspect, noting investigators had not yet recovered the “black box” data recorder from the helicopter. “We’re looking at altitude. The president was clear about that … someone was at the wrong altitude,” Hegseth told Fox News. “Was the Black Hawk too high? Was it on course? At the moment, we don’t quite know.” Wreckage in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Image provided by the US Coast Guard.Other questions investigators would probe involved whether the crew were wearing night vision glasses and whether their depth perception was adequate. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Trump was simply stating the helicopter was flying higher than it should have been, “which is one of the reasons that led to this collision”. She also defended his controversial remarks from the previous day blaming – without evidence – diversity hiring practices implemented by the Biden administration. Asked whether the controller handling incoming traffic at the airport that night was hired or not fired based on their race, Leavitt said: “That investigation is ongoing.” Officials said 41 bodies had been recovered from the frigid Potomac River as of Friday afternoon. In total, 67 people are presumed dead comprising 60 passengers, four crew members on the American flight and three helicopter pilots. That makes it the deadliest US air disaster since an American Airlines jet crashed after takeoff from New York in November 2001. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended President Donald Trump’s remarks casting blame for the crash on diversity hiring practices.District of Columbia fire chief John Connelly said recovery of more bodies would likely require removal of the fuselage first, and crews were moving as fast as possible. Victims continued to be identified, including Kiah Duggins, a civil rights lawyer and incoming professor at Howard University in Washington, and Lindsey Fields, a biology professor at Butler Community College and president-elect of the National Association of Biology Teachers. Beyond the specific circumstances of Wednesday night’s crash, broader concerns have resurfaced about the congested airspace at Reagan airport, which is close to downtown Washington and surrounded by numerous military bases. Officials said the helicopter was conducting a routine “continuation of government” training exercise – or practising for an emergency. Last year, Congress agreed to increase flight slots at the airport despite long-held concerns about congested airspace, raised repeatedly by figures such as Virginia Senator Tim Kaine. Washington air crash victims (from left): skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane, and coaches Vadim Naumov (left) and Evgenia Shishkova.At a press conference on Friday, Terrence Liercke, vice-president and manager of Ronald Reagan National Airport, repeatedly dodged questions from Australia’s Nine News about whether he had concerns about congestion in the airspace, and whether he had raised any concerns directly with the FA
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