What we know after plane, Black Hawk collide near Reagan Airport
Category: News & Politics
Via: perrie-halpern • 2 weeks ago • 69 commentsBy: Megan Lebowitz and Raquel Coronell Uribe
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
/ Updated By Megan Lebowitz and Raquel Coronell Uribe
WASHINGTON — A commercial plane and a military helicopter collided midair near Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night.
Both of the aircraft — an American Eagle jet and Army Black Hawk — are in the Potomac River. There were 64 people on the plane and three in the helicopter.
The incident occurred shortly before 9 p.m. ET. The number of casualties is unclear, as a search-and-rescue operation is ongoing.
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President Donald Trump said in a statement Wednesday night that he has been fully briefed on the crash. He thanked first responders and said he "will provide more details as they arise."
The airport is closed until at least 11 a.m. Thursday.
What we know about the plane
There were 60 passengers and four crew members on American Eagle Flight 5342, which was traveling from Wichita to Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, just over the Washington line, according to American Airlines.
The crash took place near the airport.
American Airlines said it was in contact with authorities and assisting with response efforts. The company said its concern was "for the passengers and crew on board the aircraft."
What we know about the helicopter
The Army confirmed that the helicopter was a Black Hawk operating out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Preliminary indications are that three people were on board the helicopter and that it was on a training flight, an Army official said.
What we know about the search for survivors
Search-and-rescue teams are at the Potomac River.
The Washington Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department and the Metropolitan Police Department are coordinating a search-and-rescue operation, the departments said in a joint statement.
The FBI is also working with local agencies as a search is underway for survivors, the Washington field office said in a statement.
The local departments said in their joint statement shortly before 10 p.m. that there is "no confirmed information on casualties at this time."
Firefighters are "engaged in dive operations," Edward Kelly, the general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said on X.
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"I have been fully briefed on the terrible accident which just took place at Reagan National Airport. May God Bless their souls. Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders. I am monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise. " ... Donald Trump
DC plane crash live updates: No survivors; 'absolutely' preventable, Duffy says - ABC News
Good thing Trump weighed in. I'm sure some will find that comforting.
Check the water before you plunge into that pond - FAA has been the queen of diversity over talent for fifty years.
They must be real good DEI hires. There hasnt been a commercial airline crash in the US for 16 years. Without digging deep into the math, I think that would be about 25 million passenger flights.
As opposed to a senile tool needing to be told what to say.
... and that one, too, came down to one air traffic controller who couldn't even have been bothered to look out a window at the only plane on the airport, before it started a death roll down a short runway.
Human error can happen at any time. One out of every 25 million flights , however, is a good record by any rational standard.
You've excused abject indifference as human error. Just throw some flowers in the water and move on.
Just how is that any different from yanking DEI out of one's butt to explain every calamity? Yes, yes, I know it's all just the vapid revenge of the Ahab 'faithful'.
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There's no question that the DEI initiatives have diverted resources away from mission critical investments. The DEI initiatives have also impacted recruitment efforts for an understaffed air traffic control. DEI initiative training has impinged upon limited time and resources needed to maintain mission critical readiness.
And while Democrats attempt to exploit the DEI issues to focus on a divisive issue, the single most important question is not receiving much attention. Why was a military helicopter allowed to operate within an active approach pattern? ATC is supposed to close approaches to air traffic transitioning through the airspace. Aircraft transitioning through a controlled airspace are supposed to be routed around the approach pattern. Why was it so fuckin' important for the helicopter to be where it was?
That isn't even possible since Reagen fired all the controllers after they went on strike in 1981. Are you saying that FAA under Reagen hired people based on diversity? I think not.
You do realize that everyone hired under Reagan has to have been retired for a minimum of 10 to 15 years right? and that is 100% turnover of the Reagan hires, so he has absolutely nothing to do with "modern" air traffic control personnel.
don't know what you are trying to say and dont care
George, the person who made the comment said that and I quote:
Which is what I responded to.
As for there being a 100% turn over, probably so, but that was not the issue. The issue was that the FAA had a policy of diversity for over 50 years which is just not true.
He's still mulling over which bureaucracy to blame.
We do know that there is too much air traffic in that area, don't we?
Complete with superlatives and all caps. What a classy pres.
As I have heard so far, the Blackhawk was on a training exercise for night time navigation without instruments, using only night vision visual aid for navigation. It looks to me that they lost the airliner in the city lights since all lights show up as green no matter the actual color. The airliners landing lights were not visible to the helicopter at the angle they came from.
Very good.
I think you got it.
At 2 am I just figured that it was a drunk Hegseth stealing a Blackhawk to get to the strip club for last call.
I thought it was Biden picking up Corn-pop to go find underage hookers. according to his daughter he likes them young.
My theory also. The busiest airspace in the US should not be used for nighttime training with limited vision.
With all the instrumentation and advanced collision avoidance avionics available today, there is no excuse for this happening.
And WTF was ATC doing as he was aware of both aircraft.
I've seen numerous helicopter pilots say the same thing. They pretty much all believe the pilot confirmed a visual on the wrong plane and never saw the one he collided with.
Not too sure how true it is but I heard and expert say collision avoidance avionics is not the best below 1000 feet
He’s already blaming Biden and disparaging reporters at a press conference. Unreal. How presidential.
it was only a matter of time by the maga fuhrer ...
Did you notice how much more solemn he got when he mentioned the Russians on board? I think that him him right where he lives.
His first impulse in any emergency is to look for someone (not him, of course) to blame. And while obviously, someone will be the “but for” cause here, his reasoning is always that of an 8-year old.
According to what I read, there are approximately 5,500 passenger flights every day . It has been 16 years since the last passenger flight crash of a commercial airliner. If there has been DEI in the FAA or in the airlines, lets have much more of it.
25 MILLION flights between crashes. And this asshole who poses as the leader of this country says it might have been caused by DEI . What a fucking clown.
Says the guy that was absent for 2 or 3 months on maternal leave while the country was facing a major supply chain problem.
As families grieve, Pete Buttigeg politicizes the tragedy.
Classy guy.
He is responding to Trump this morning.
Are you proud of the fact that your moron in chief implied the crash last night might have been cause by DEI ? That was the politicization Buttigieg was responding to.
I heard of a new Ipsos poll that shows a number of the actions Trump has taken DO NOT have the support of the majority of the American people.
70% believe his renaming the Gulf Of Mexico is not warranted.
Almost 2/3 do not agree with pardoning the J6 defendants.
60% do not agree with ending federal efforts to enable the hiring of women and minorities.
The majority objects to his tariff plans.
The majority objects to leaving the Paris Climate Accords.
and more.
I’m surprised he hasn’t made that claim that a white hawk helicopter would have never made this error.
Trump is president now, right?
Did Biden try to use DEI at the FAA?
Do you recall his nominee who was so embarrassed that he withdrew himself from the nomination?
Too bad you didn't get it. Post 1.2.3 is really saying that the military shouldn't be having training sessions within one of the busiest aviation corridors in the US.
Uh, yea. Happy you recognize this but what is your point?
I heard of it and immediately thought of Jan 1982 , when it happened before .
In the grainy clip that has been shown repeatedly since the incident there are two planes. Newscasters have even pointed out that it’s not the plane on the right but the one in the center of the screen. My guess is that at that time of night it’s probably unusual for there to be two commercial aircraft in the process of taking off or landing simultaneously. Question is did the ATC point out both planes to the helicopter pilot?
In a Reuter's article I read this morning ATC -
From what has been reported the helo never responded, another question is why the plane wasn't warned of the helo. It appears there was time with the Collision Avoidance alert.
The plane was focused on landing in a complicated maneuver involving an S turn seconds before touching down. It’s how planes have to land on that runway.
I understand that, the question is did the ATC warn him of the helo in the flight path.
And cause the pilots to take their eyes off of the complicated maneuver they were doing? The helicopter ran into the plane, not the other way around.
Please explain how you know this, was a "go around" out of the question for some reason?
Just read where the helo was on the helicopter frequency and it is thought that the ATC was trying to cover both frequencies. The helicopter did indeed respond.
Indeed, the plot's last words were "Oh my (God)" when the helo dropped straight down on the airports radar.
Thanks for the info, Jim. Still wondering why, the ATC didn't warn the incoming plane.
Earlier this morning I was thinking that once this accident falls off the front page, leftists would start blaming Trump for it.
Boy, how wrong I was. It only happened within hours.
CNN pundit apologizes after sparking right-wing fury for blaming DC plane crash on Trump | The Independent
This [ removed ] [ ✘ ] democrats have ever hated a president more since Lincoln
lol - meanwhile the administration has preemptively blamed it on DEI at a televised press conference, and based that brain fart on “common sense”. No doubt Trump’s first order was to get the voting record of everyone involved.
No, he was asked if he thought DEI played a part and he said "it could have". He didn't say it did.
Context matters.
Don't tell me you're surprised.
For background as to what's happened with air traffic controllers:
The Obama administration dropped a skill-based system for selecting and hiring air traffic controllers (ATCs), and replaced it with a new system designed to favor applicants on the basis of their race. It makes no sense. Worse yet, it is illegal and unconstitutional. The FAA purged its system of thousands of previously-qualified, ready-to-hire applicants simply because they did not fit the right biographical profile. The government endangered public safety and owes restitution for this grave injustice.
And thats why we have had 25 million flights without a crash until last night.
The idea that "diversity" is responsible , or even to pose the possibility , is completely absurd. Very MAGA though.
Why? Nothing should be taken off the table as the investigation continues, no matter how slight the possibility including being done on purpose. The training and background of the people involved should be part of any investigation. Saying it isn't DEI is as irresponsible as saying it is DEI at this point. I am more than willing to let the investigation continue with everything on the table. Doing anything other than that is completely absurd.
Thats all well and good, but is not really related to anything I have said on this article.
Correct except the comment is in direct response to your comment. Posing the possibility is not the issue. Saying it is a reason is.
The controller, or the automated systems, should have spotted the converging targets on the radar.
Juan Browne has a good take on this accident.
The radar loop I saw did just that with a "CA" notation on their locations on the screen where the two were concerned.
Condolences to the friends and families of those who died
It took Trump all of an hour to blame minorities for the crash. That must be some kind of record even for him.
Congratulations, Trump good job, white is right as always.
I'm guessing that Trump has some info on this incident before he made that statement.
Where? I believe it has to do with merit. Are you putting minorities in the same tub that you do for voter ID like the rest of the left side of the aisle seems to do?