Questions are swirling around the midair collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter Wednesday night, with President Donald Trump saying Thursday the tragedy was preventable.
A cause of the crash has not been determined, according to leaders of the District of Columbia, the Transportation Department, Defense Department and DC Fire and EMS, who spoke in multiple places Thursday. Sixty-four, including four crew members, were aboard the commercial airliner and three were on the helicopter.
All are presumed dead.
Multiple media outlets reported later Thursday that an internal Federal Aviation Administration report notes that one air traffic controller was working both planes and helicopters at Reagan National Airport Wednesday evening when two is “normal.”
hortly before 9 p.m. local time, American Airlines flight 5342, originating out of Wichita, Kan., “collided midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on approach to Runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport,” according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Thursday morning, DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly confirmed response was in recovery and no survivors are expected to be found. He said the bodies of 27 from the commercial airliner and one from the helicopter had been recovered.
At a press conference in Reagan National Airport, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy emphasized that the plane and helicopter followed standard flight plans.
“The helicopter was aware there was a plane in the area,” Duffy said in response to questions concerning communications between the air traffic control tower and the two aircraft.
