The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is restricting helicopter routes near Reagan Washington National Airport, as investigations get underway into the events that led to American Eagle Flight 5342 colliding with a Black Hawk helicopter.
All 64 people on the plane and the three Army soldiers on the helicopter died.
The plane’s cockpit voice recorder — also known as a “black box” — has been recovered and more than 40 bodies have so far been pulled from the Potomac River.
• The helicopter was engaged in a military training flight.
The pilots had flown the same route before, according to Jonathan Koziol, the chief of staff for Army aviation. The male instructor and female pilot had a combined 1,500 hours of flight time between them.
President Trump suggested the helicopter was flying at too high of an altitude when the collision occurred.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said they’re investigating whether night vision goggles were engaged for the flight. The black box from the Black Hawk has not yet been recovered yet, he said.
“Was the Black Hawk too high? Was it on course? Right now, we don’t quite know,” Hegseth said Friday on Fox & Friends.
• Trump on Friday doubled down on his claim that diversity hiring was responsible for the crash.
“This is just one reason why our Country WAS going to hell!!!” Trump wrote in Friday post.
The FAA acknowledged that air traffic control staffing responsibilities were below normal levels at the time of the collision, with the AP reporting one person was doing the job of two people.
• Close calls at Reagan National existed long before this week’s collision. Heavy congestion, military training and restricted air space have contributed to risks at the airport.
“It is a very complicated and congested airspace,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.).
The Washington Post reports that less than 24 hours before Wednesday’s collision, a different passenger plane had to abort landing due to potential for a collision with a helicopter.
Over the past few years, there were at least two incidents where planes nearly collided, and another where two helicopters nearly collided, according to CNN.
