‘Black box' recovered from helicopter involved in Washington midair collision

U.S. investigators accidental the "black box" recorder from an Army Black Hawk chopper was recovered Friday, arsenic teams proceed to hunt for clues into the midair collision that killed 67 radical adjacent Washington.

The Army chopper and a commercialized rider pitchy collided precocious Wednesday arsenic the pitchy was attempting to onshore astatine Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Investigators said Friday evening that they are reviewing the formation information recorder on with 2 from the level that they recovered Thursday arsenic they effort to recognize what caused the clang implicit the Potomac River.

National Transportation Safety Board subordinate J. Todd Inman told reporters Friday the helicopter’s recorder appeared to beryllium intact.

"We saw nary exterior harm that would bespeak it was compromised astatine this time, truthful we person a precocious level of assurance we’ll person a afloat extraction," helium said.

The NTSB is the national bureau starring the probe into the accident.

The commercialized jet, a Bombardier CRJ700 determination trade operated by American Airlines subsidiary PSA Airlines, carried 64 passengers and crew, portion the U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk chopper carried a unit of three. Officials accidental determination were nary survivors.

Fire and exigency work officials successful Washington said Friday that 41 bodies person been recovered from the wreckage. Authorities said that they would apt beryllium incapable to extricate much victims from the level without heavier equipment.

Inman said that barges from Virginia Beach volition get Saturday to statesman much extended salvage operations. He said rescue workers volition besides marque definite that the victims are recovered.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced Friday that astir helicopters would not beryllium allowed to question done and adjacent Reagan National Airport for the clip being.

He wrote connected societal media level X, "Today’s determination volition instantly assistance unafraid the airspace adjacent Reagan Airport, ensuring the information of airplane and chopper traffic."

Speaking Friday earlier the helicopter’s achromatic container was found, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the recorder would apt find who was piloting the chopper astatine the clip of the crash.

He said Thursday that the chopper crew, which was conducting a night-flight grooming evaluation, included a unit sergeant, a captain-in-training, and a main warrant officer, who was an instructor. The unit had been issued nighttime imaginativeness goggles for the flight, but Hegseth said it was unclear if they were utilizing them.

The defence caput said the achromatic container besides could find who was successful connection with the airport’s aerial postulation power operation and if determination was immoderate disorder regarding the instructions they received.

Hegseth besides said Thursday that the helicopter’s altitude astatine the clip of the mishap was nether investigation.

President Donald Trump said Friday that the Army chopper was flying excessively precocious astatine the clip of the crash.

"It was acold supra the 200 ft limit. That’s not truly excessively analyzable to understand, is it???" Trump said successful a Friday greeting station connected his Truth Social platform.

Citing a authorities report, The Washington Post reported Thursday that the power operation was understaffed Wednesday night. The study said 2 radical were handling the jobs of 4 wrong the operation astatine the clip of the collision.

A akin study from U.S. broadcaster NBC News, citing a root acquainted with the investigation, said a supervisor successful the operation fto an aerial postulation controller permission their displacement aboriginal earlier the collision.

That decision, the study said, near 1 controller to grip some airplane postulation and chopper postulation successful the area, whereas typically determination is 1 controller looking astatine each benignant of aircraft.

The NBC study said it is allowable nether Federal Aviation Administration standards for 1 idiosyncratic to bash some jobs, though it is not considered optimal.

At a quality league Thursday, some Virginia U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner said they had expressed concerns implicit the years regarding the precocious measurement of aerial postulation successful the Washington area, but that they would await results from the mishap probe earlier revisiting that circumstantial concern.

During a White House quality league Thursday, Trump suggested erstwhile statesmanlike administrations, led by Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, lowered standards for the hiring of aerial postulation controllers and blamed diversity, equity and inclusion, DEI, initiatives successful the national authorities for that.

He said helium reversed those initiatives with enforcement orders past week.

The U.S. Figure Skating enactment said respective members of its community, including athletes, coaches and household members, were among the passengers connected the plane.

"We are devastated by this unspeakable calamity and clasp the victims' families intimately successful our hearts," the enactment said.

The Kremlin and Russian media said Russian fig skaters, including satellite champion mates Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, besides were connected the plane. Trump said his medication would facilitate the instrumentality of their remains to Russia.

Some accusation for this study was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.