Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III, who famously landed a rider level connected the Hudson River successful 2009, commented connected the deadly craft collision that occurred implicit the Potomac River connected Wednesday night.
"We’ve had to larn important lessons virtually with humor excessively often, and we had yet gotten beyond that, to wherever we could larn from incidents, and not accidents," Captain Sullenberger told The New York Times.
Sullenberger explained to the outlet that "everything is harder" erstwhile flying astatine night. He noted that portion the pilots’ quality to spot whitethorn person been impacted by the darkness, "we don’t know" whether that was the case.
"I’m conscionable devastated by this," Sullenberger said. "We person the work to larn from each nonaccomplishment and improve."
Search and rescue efforts are seen astir a wreckage tract successful the Potomac River from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, aboriginal Thursday greeting connected Jan. 30, 2025, successful Arlington, Va. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)
AMERICAN AIRLINES CEO EXPRESSES 'DEEP SORROW' AFTER MIDAIR COLLISION
At astir 9:00 PM section clip connected Wednesday night, an Army Black Hawk collided with an American Airlines level adjacent Reagan National Airport extracurricular of Washington, D.C. All 67 radical onboard some craft are presumed dead.
John Donnelly, Chief of the District of Columbia Fire Department, said connected Thursday greeting that authorities did not judge determination were immoderate survivors, and the ngo was shifting "from a rescue cognition to a betterment operation."
Part of the wreckage is seen arsenic rescue boats hunt the waters of the Potomac River aft a level connected attack to Reagan National Airport crashed into the stream adjacent Washington, D.C., connected Jan. 30, 2025. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
HEGSETH SHARES DETAILS ON BLACK HAWK CHOPPER TRAINING FLIGHT
President Donald Trump called the deadly clang a "dark and excruciating nighttime successful our nation's superior and successful our nation's history, and a calamity of unspeakable proportions."
"Together, we instrumentality solace successful the cognition that their travel ended not successful the acold waters of the Potomac, but successful the lukewarm clasp of a loving God," Trump said.
In a video statement, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the section knows "on our broadside who was involved. It was a reasonably experienced crew, and that was doing a required yearly nighttime evaluation. They did person nighttime imaginativeness goggles."
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who was sworn-in hours earlier the collision, said "everything was standard" earlier the crash. He besides vowed to get answers for the victims’ families and the American people.
All 155 radical aboard US Airways Flight 1549 stood connected the wings of the level wherever Captain "Sully" safely landed successful the Hudson River connected Jan. 15, 2009. (American Veterans Center)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In January 2009, Sullenberger landed an Airbus A320 safely successful the Hudson River aft striking a flock of birds that disabled some engines soon aft takeoff; each 155 radical aboard survived. His heroic actions, aboriginal dubbed the "miracle connected the Hudson," were depicted successful the 2016 movie "Sully" starring Tom Hanks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Rachel Wolf is simply a breaking quality writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.