Black boxes found as officials examine staffing shortage in DC plane crash
Watch: Airport re-opens as recovery work carries on after DC plane crash
The black boxes from a plane crash in Washington DC have been found. This is as questions grow about staffing and safety at the airport. The plane was landing when it hit a military helicopter.
Normally, two people manage air traffic control in this busy airspace. But on Wednesday, only one was on duty. This was reported by the BBC’s US partner CBS News.
Officials are still trying to figure out what caused the crash. It killed all 67 people on the two aircraft.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will release a preliminary report in 30 days.
The black boxes can give clues to investigators. They will be taken to the NTSB lab for analysis, CBS reports.
The staffing numbers were unusual, the New York Times first reported. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed this in a preliminary report.
The government has had trouble filling key FAA positions for years.
Having one person manage both helicopters and planes was not uncommon. It did not break any rules, according to the FAA.
Divers searched the icy Potomac River for victims on Thursday. They found 27 bodies from the plane and one from the helicopter.
The search was stopped in the evening due to dangerous conditions.
There were 64 passengers on the American Airlines flight. Three soldiers were on the Army Black Hawk helicopter.
At a White House briefing, President Donald Trump offered a moment of silence. He said, “We can only begin to imagine the agony that you’re all feeling”.
Trump speculated on the cause of the collision. He suggested lower hiring standards for air traffic controllers might have played a role.
Later, he signed a memo to end diversity, equity, and inclusion practices in aviation. Critics say these programs can be discriminatory.
Trump also signed an executive order to appoint a new FAA head.
Watch: Figure skating performances of DC plane crash victims
The crash happened at 21:00 local time (02:00 GMT) on Wednesday. A PSA Airlines jet collided with a US Army helicopter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River. The passenger plane broke into pieces and sank into the water. The helicopter landed upside down in the river.
The plane, a Bombardier CRJ700, left Wichita, Kansas. It carried dozens of passengers. This included young figure skaters, their mothers, and two Russian coaches.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “There were other of our fellow citizens on board. It’s bad news today from Washington.
“We are sorry and send our condolences to families and friends.”
The helicopter was a Sikorsky H-60. It took off from Fort Belvoir in Virginia. It had three soldiers on board, from B Company, 12th Aviation Battalion.
“It’s a tragedy, a horrible loss of life for those 64 souls on that civilian airliner, and of course the three soldiers in that Black Hawk [helicopter],” said new defence secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday.
