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Family members of victims of the deadliest U.S. air disaster in nearly 25 years visited the crash site just outside Washington DC.
Dozens of people walked along the banks of the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport, close to where 67 people died in a mid-air collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines jet last Wednesday.
Crews have recovered and identified the bodies of 55 victims in the deadly aircraft collision, officials said. DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said divers still need to find the bodies of 12 victims and are committed to the dignified recovery of remains as they prepare to lift wreckage from the Potomac as early as Monday.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Army has identified the third pilot of the Black Hawk helicopter as Captain Rebecca M Lobach, 28, from North Carolina.
In a statement, her family said: “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. She was a bright star in all our lives. She was kind, generous, brilliant, funny, ambitious and strong. No one dreamed bigger or worked harder to achieve her goals.”
White House gives muddled answer about flight safety on commercial airlines
James Liddell3 February 2025 08:22
Transport secretary says air staffing was ‘not normal’ during crash
The air traffic control staffing was “not normal” at the time of a mid-air collision between a US military Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger plane in Washington, the transport secretary said.
“I’ll take the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) at their word that it wasn’t normal,” Sean Duffy told Fox News.
Just one air traffic control worker was managing helicopters and some planes from the airport, which is generally done by two people, CBS News reported citing two sources.
Mr Duffy said “that was part of the review process that we have to do”.
He added that there was a “consolidation of air traffic controllers an hour before it was supposed to happen during the time of this crash. And so was, what was the appropriateness of that?”
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar3 February 2025 08:01
Watch: New footage captures moment of Washington DC plane crash
Katie Hawkinson3 February 2025 07:00
Data shows helicopter may have been too high
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have determined the CRJ700 airplane was at 325 feet, plus or minus 25 feet, at the time of impact, officials said.
A Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Airlines passenger jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport this week, killing 67 people in all.
The information was based on data recovered from the jet’s flight data recorder – the “black box” that tracks the aircraft’s movements, speed and other parameters.The new detail suggests the Army helicopter was flying above 200 feet, the maximum altitude for the route it was using.
Preliminary data indicates the control tower’s radar showed the helicopter at 200 feet at the time of the accident, though officials said the information has not been confirmed.”That’s what our job is, to figure that out,” NTSB board member Todd Inman told reporters when asked what could explain the discrepancy.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar3 February 2025 06:01
ICYMI: Officials have recovered, identified 55 victims
Crews have recovered and identified 55 of the 67 victims presumed dead in the aircraft collision over Washington D.C., officials said Sunday.
This comes after mourners gathered on the banks of the Potomac River Sunday to honor those killed in the deadly crash.
Katie Hawkinson3 February 2025 05:00
Sound captured moments before crash
The American Airlines plane’s cockpit voice recorder captured sound moments before the crash, said investigator in charge Brice Banning.
“The crew had a verbal reaction,” Mr Banning said, and the flight data recorder showed “the airplane beginning to increase its pitch. Sounds of impact were audible about one second later, followed by the end of the recording”.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar3 February 2025 04:01
Families visit plane crash site
Families of victims of the deadliest US air disaster in nearly 25 years visited the crash site on Sunday just outside Washington DC
.Dozens of people walked along the banks of the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport, close to where an American Airlines plane and an army Black Hawk helicopter collided on Wednesday, killing all 67 aboard.
They arrived in buses with a police escort, remembering loved ones as federal investigators worked to piece together the events that led to the crash and recovery crews prepared to pull more wreckage from the chilly water.
Transportation secretary Sean Duffy said he wanted to leave federal aviation investigators space to conduct their inquiry. But he posed a range of questions about the crash while appearing on morning TV news programmes.
“What was happening inside the towers? Were they understaffed/ The position of the Black Hawk, the elevation of the Black Hawk, were the pilots of the Black Hawk wearing night vision goggles?” Mr Duffy asked on CNN.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar3 February 2025 03:09
ICYMI: Olympic champion mourns teenage skaters killed in Washington DC crash
Katie Hawkinson3 February 2025 03:00
Officials to start lifting debris today
The rescue officials will start lifting debris out of the Potomac River today, Col Francis Pera from the US Army Corp of Engineers, told reporters.
He said he anticipates “a successful lift” this morning.
“We do have a process where we will be watching the lift as it happens,” Col Pera said. “And then if there are remains in there, that will not move while we’re recovering the wreckage. We will bring that wreckage to the surface of the barge. Our process [is] to immediately tent the barge to make sure that we have full discretion.”
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar3 February 2025 03:00
For an eight-year-old figure skater, the DC plane crash means the loss of friends and beloved coach
As a three-year-old, she tried out for several but was told she didn’t have elite talent.
Sienna’s mother, Rachelle Chase Piro, had gotten Volyanskaya to agree to see her daughter through a friend but she was nervous about taking her to the rink. The then-seven-year-old was athletically behind other skaters her age and the coach was already working with several high-profile athletes.
Piro worried her daughter wouldn’t make the cut, she told The Independent in a phone call.
Michelle Del Rey3 February 2025 01:00
