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1 Washington DC Plane Crash: Authorities Recover 41 Bodies After Mid air Collision

Authorities have actually recuperated 41 bodies after a plane crash in Washington DC.

Sixty-seven people were eliminated when an American Airlines jet and a military helicopter collided mid-air on Wednesday night. So far, 28 bodies have been determined.

Both airplane crashed into the Potomac River after the collision. Some 300 workers were sent to the scene, but the rescue quickly became a recovery mission as officials stated there were no survivors.

Washington crash: Follow the most current updates

Federal detectives have actually recovered the black boxes from the guest jet, while authorities were still browsing for comparable devices in the helicopter.

Meanwhile, amid concerns over how well the airport's control tower was staffed on the night of the crash, it's been validated that an air traffic control manager had let a controller leave their shift early.

The information, first reported by the New york city Times, has been validated to Sky News' US partner NBC News by a source acquainted with the examination.

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It means a single controller was handling both airplane and helicopter traffic in the location when the two airplane collided.

It is permitted - but not optimum - for one controller to do both tasks, NBC News reported.

The American Airlines jet was bring 60 passengers and 4 team when it crashed with the Black Hawk helicopter, carrying 3 soldiers, soon before 9pm regional time on Wednesday.

Flight 5342 was preparing to arrive on runway 33 at the Ronald Reagan Washington when it hit the helicopter in one of the most securely managed airspaces on the planet.

'Em ergency automobiles sped past me'

A male whose better half was on the flight has remembered how he saw emergency services "speeding past" as he was waiting at the airport to pick her up.

Hamaad Raza told NBC News his partner of two years, Asra, had actually "texted me [and] said, 'We're landing in 20 minutes'".

" I was waiting and I started seeing a lot of EMS automobiles speeding past me ... way too lots of, [more] than regular and my texts weren't going through."

Trump makes unproven diversity drive claim

Donald Trump has connected a diversity drive at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under previous federal governments to the crash.

It has considering that been said there is no evidence to support the US president's claim.

Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Mr Trump suggested the diversity efforts had actually made air travel less safe.

At a White House press briefing on Friday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated Mr Trump had signed a memorandum directing an instant evaluation of FAA working with choices made throughout the previous administration.

While Mr Trump's claim appears to have been exposed, there are concerns over staffing at Reagan Washington National Airport.

NBC News reported staffing in the air traffic control tower was "not typical", according to a preliminary FAA report.

The tower generally has a controller who focuses specifically on helicopter traffic - however at the time of the crash, a source stated, one controller was supervising both aircraft and helicopter activity.

The FAA, which manages air traffic control along with certification of personnel and aircraft, lacks a long-term administrator. Its previous employer Michael Whitaker stepped down on 20 January - the day of Mr Trump's inauguration.

Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app Mr Trump has actually selected an acting administrator, Chris Rocheleau, in the wake of the crash.

Mr Whitaker had actually encountered Mr Trump's confidante Elon Musk over the SpaceX rocket launches during his tenure at the FAA.

Since beginning as head of the administration in October 2023, he was likewise forced to react to Boeing's security and quality issues, and job worked to work with more air traffic controllers due to a scarcity of personnel.

Learn more:. Washington DC plane crash: What we understand up until now. Air traffic control heard diverting aircrafts minutes after crash

At his instruction, Mr Trump blamed former president Joe Biden for decreasing standards for air traffic controllers.

" We have to have our smartest individuals," he stated. "They have to be naturally skilled geniuses."

Mr Trump added: "The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer extreme intellectual impairments, psychiatric problems, and other psychological and physical conditions under a variety and inclusion hiring effort defined on the company's site."

The American Association of People with Disabilities reacted to these claims, saying in a statement on X: "FAA workers with disabilities did not cause [the] awful aircraft crash.

" The investigation into the crash is still continuous. It is very improper for the president to utilize this tragedy to press an anti-diversity hiring program. Doing so makes all Americans less safe."

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Mr Trump stated after being sworn in recently, he signed an executive order which "brought back the highest standards of air traffic controllers".

At a later instruction, he was asked if gender or race played a role. He addressed: "It might have, I do not know.