ARLINGTON, Va. — Federal officials have begun scrutinizing the actions of a military pilot while reporting that control tower staffing was “not normal” when a midair collision between an Army helicopter and an American Eagle flight from Wichita killed all 67 people aboard the two aircraft.
At least 28 bodies were pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River after the helicopter apparently flew into the path of the jet late Wednesday while it was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport, just across the river from Washington, officials said. The plane carried 60 passengers and four crew. Three soldiers were aboard the helicopter.
“We mourn with all those who have been impacted,’’ Wichita Mayor Lily Wu said during a news conference Thursday morning at City Hall. “This is a terrible tragedy that will unite those in Washington, D.C., and Wichita, Kansas, forever.”
Among the 60 passengers on the jet were figure skaters, their coaches and family members who were returning from a development camp held after the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita last week, U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement.
The Skating Club of Boston confirmed that six people associated with its organization died in the crash.
Figure skaters Spencer Lane, 16, and Jinna Han, 13, and coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadmin Naumov. Lane’s mother, Christine, and Han’s mother, Jin, were also traveling with the athletes and coaches.
During a community prayer service at Wichita City Hall on Thursday afternoon, religious leaders urged residents to grieve together and comfort their neighbors during a time of uncertainty.
"Do you know the world is watching Wichita, Kansas?" said the Rev. Ben Staley of Chapel Hill United Methodist Church. "Let us be a light of hope, showing the love of Christ in ways that draw us to one another, in ways that help us to recognize that we don't know what's coming next."
The city is directing families seeking more information about the crash to call American Airlines directly at 800-679-8215.
Crash investigation
According to a report by the Federal Aviation Administration obtained by The Associated Press, one air traffic controller was doing work normally assigned to two people in the tower at Reagan National when the collision happened.
“The position configuration was not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” the report said.
A top Army aviation official said the Black Hawk crew was “very experienced” and familiar with the congested flying that occurs daily around Washington.
“Both pilots had flown this specific route before, at night. This wasn’t something new to either one of them,” said Jonathan Koziol, chief of staff for Army aviation. “Even the crew chief in the back has been in the unit for a very long time, very familiar with the area, very familiar with the routing structure.”
The helicopter's maximum allowed altitude at the time of the crash was 200 feet above ground, Koziol said. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said that elevation seemed to be a factor in the collision.
Trump opened a White House news conference after the crash with a moment of silence honoring the victims, calling it an “hour of anguish” for the country.
But he spent most of his time casting political blame, lashing out at the Biden administration and diversity efforts at the Federal Aviation Administration, saying they had led to slipping standards — even as he acknowledged that the cause of the crash was unknown.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who was sworn in earlier this week, said there were "early indicators of what happened,” though he declined to elaborate pending an investigation.
It is not unusual to have a military aircraft flying the river and an aircraft landing at the airport, he said, but added that he thought the crash could have been avoided.
“From what I’ve seen so far, do I think this was preventable? Absolutely.” he said.
Crash information
The FAA said the midair crash occurred before 8 p.m. CST in some of the most tightly controlled and monitored airspace in the world, just over 3 miles south of the White House and the Capitol.
American Airlines Flight 5342 was inbound to Reagan National at an altitude of about 400 feet and a speed of about 140 mph when it rapidly lost altitude over the Potomac, according to data from its radio transponder.
The Canadian-made Bombardier CRJ-700 twin-engine jet, manufactured in 2004, can be configured to carry up to 70 passengers.
A few minutes before landing, air traffic controllers asked the arriving commercial jet if it could land on the shorter Runway 33 at Reagan National, and the pilots said they were able. Controllers then cleared the plane to land on Runway 33. Flight-tracking sites showed the plane adjust its approach to the new runway.
Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter if it had the arriving plane in sight. The controller made another radio call to the helicopter moments later: “PAT 25, pass behind the CRJ.” Seconds after that, the two aircraft collided.
The plane’s transponder stopped transmitting about 2,400 feet short of the runway, roughly over the middle of the river.
Contributing: NPR
Additional reporting by Rose Conlon, Suzanne Perez, Celia Hack, Meg Britton-Mehlisch, Hugo Phan and Tom Shine.
