Latest news with #CanadairRegionalJet700
USA Today
30-01-2025
- General
- USA Today
Aircraft involved in the fatal midair collision with military copter overnighted at GSP
Aircraft involved in the fatal midair collision with military copter overnighted at GSP The American Airlines Flight 5342 that collided with an Army helicopter had overnighted at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport hours before it crashed. According to FlightAware, the Canadair Regional Jet 700 aircraft, tail number N709PS, arrived at GSP from Ronald Reagan National Airport at 10:02 p.m. on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the aircraft departed GSP at 7:20 a.m. and returned to Reagan National. The flight schedule included a stop in Cleveland Wednesday afternoon before returning to Reagan National, then taking off again and heading for Wichita, Kansas. According to USA Today, the crash occurred just before 9 p.m. Wednesday when the flight from Wichita, attempted to land and collided in midair with the Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National. President Donald Trump said all 67 people aboard the American Airlines flight and helicopter died in the crash. More: Live updates: All 67 aboard plane, copter killed in tragic midair collision near DC GSP released a statement after the crash. "We extend our deepest sympathies to those affected by the tragic accident near Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night. Our hearts are with the passengers and crew, military members, their loved ones, first responders, and our aviation community. We encourage everyone to stay informed through official channels. If you're traveling through the area, please check with airlines for updates." According to reports, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov are believed to be two of the individuals dead. The two won world championships in pairs figure skating in 1994 before moving to the U.S. and becoming coaches. In addition, four other members of the Skating Club of Boston, including two teenagers and their parents, were on board the flight from Wichita.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Bombardier CRJ-700 in the American Airlines crash was a safe and reliable workhorse for short-haul routes
The jet's sterling record won't help Bombardier as the Quebec manufacturer divested its aircraft programs to focus on building private jets for businesses and the ultra-wealthy. The Bombardier CRJ-700 passenger plane involved in the tragic mid-air crash with a U.S. Army helicopter in the midnight skies of Washington, DC., is a work horse of the regional jet market with a sterling safety record. In the final hours of Wednesday, the aircraft was on its approach to DC's Ronald Reagan National carrying 64 passengers and crew when it collided with a Sikorski BlackHawk on a training flight. The first fatal U.S. aviation accident since 2009 occurred in one of the most heavily controlled airspaces on American soil. Reagan National is a Class B airport, reserved for the busiest destinations like New York's JFK. This means airborne objects as far as 30 nautical miles away and operating up to a ceiling of 10,000 feet are subject to air traffic rules from the tower. But Bombardier is no Boeing. The Canadair Regional Jet 700 series, which entered service over 25 years ago, has not been subject to mid-air malfunctions or defects of any kind and no fatalities are associated with this class of aircraft. According to a database run by the nonprofit Flight Safety Foundation, there was only one occurrence of a mechanical defect in July 2017 during a landing manouever in Denver that damaged the plane. All other incidents have been largely minimal and stemmed from human negligence. 'Today, the CRJ Series family of aircraft is the world's most successful regional aircraft program,' Bombardier says. Yet the Montreal, Quebec-based aerospace firm likely won't have to face any uncomfortable questions when it reports results next Thursday. That's because the company is not even in the business of manufacturing aircraft for carriers like American's wholly owned subsidiary PSA Airlines, which operated the American Eagle flight 5342 out of Witchita, Kansas. Due to financial difficulties in the 2010s stemming from the costly development of its C-Series narrowbody line, Bombardier management streamlined its portfolio to focus solely on exclusive private jets for businesses and the ultra-wealthy. All the other civilian aircraft projects—including the C-Series now marketed as the Airbus A220—were divested one by one. The Canadair Regional Jet line, meanwhile, was sold for $750 million in equity and debt to Japanese competitor Mitsubishi Heavy Industries just months before the COVID pandemic broke out. Under the deal, Bombardier was only obligated to finish construction of the remaining aircraft on backlog, with the final CRJ-700 plane delivered to customers four years ago. Despite MHI's investment largely targeted at accessing a new geographic market, the new owner eventually abandoned the regional jet business entirely, shutting down its planned CRJ successor, the MHI SpaceJet. Now demand for passenger planes capable of seating 60-100 people is largely served by Brazil's Embraer Group. Bombardier currently concentrates on its two main lines of private jets, Challenger and Global, that were developed following its 1990 acquisition of Learjet. These are led by the upcoming flagship Global 8000 that costs an estimated $80 million-plus, and can seat as many as 18 occupants while travelling nearly at the speed of sound. This story was originally featured on
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
No Expected Survivors After Mid-Air Collision Between Passenger Plane and Army Helicopter in D.C.
There are no expected survivors after American Airlines Eagle Flight 5342 collided with a UH-60 U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. The Canadair Regional Jet 700 (CRJ700), operated by American Airlines subsidiary PSA Airlines, was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members. It had taken off from Wichita, Kansas, and was impacted as it approached the airport to land. Three soldiers were onboard the military helicopter, according to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. More from Rolling Stone Trump Repeats Lie That U.S. Spent $50 Million on Condoms for Gaza Whoops! White House Rescinds Memo Freezing Federal Financial Assistance Jimmy Kimmel Douses Trump's Claim Military 'Turned On' California's Water In a press conference held this morning, Bowser, local authorities, and national leaders offered an update on the situation. Bowser acknowledged that the nation's capital is grieving along with families in Kansas and across the country. 'This morning we all share a profound sense of grief,' she said. D.C. fire and EMS chief John Donnelly confirmed it is unlikely that there are any survivors. 'We are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,' he said. 'At this point we don't believe there are any survivors from this accident, and we have recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter.' The collision took place shortly before 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday night. Around 300 rescue workers have been involved in the recovery efforts since, although they are facing challenging conditions with cold temperatures and a lack of light over the river. The FBI's Washington Field Office dive team is assisting with the efforts, according to CNN. Last night, Donnelly said that conditions are 'dangerous' and search-and-rescue will likely take several days. 'The challenges are access,' Donnelly said. 'The water that we're operating in is about 8 feet deep, there is wind, there is pieces of ice out there so it's just dangerous and hard to work in. The water is dark, it is murky, and that is a very tough condition for them to dive in.' This morning he added, 'The recovery operation goes on. It's a lot of touch and feel in the different parts of the plane and the helicopter, and the crash area is a little spread out. So we've got some work to do.' Donnelley said he believes the search teams will be able to recover all of the bodies. 'I'm confident that we will do that,' he told reporters. 'It will take us a little bit of time. It may involve some more equipment.' U.S. Figure Skating confirmed in a statement that 'several members of our skating community' were onboard the passenger flight. 'These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the national development camp held in conjunction with the US figure skating championships in Wichita, Kansas,' the organization said. 'We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims' families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available.' Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin in Moscow, confirmed that former world champion Russian figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were among the passengers. 'Unfortunately, we see that this sad information is being confirmed,' Peskov said, per the Associated Press. 'There were other fellow citizens there. Bad news today from Washington. We are sorry and send condolences to the families and friends who lost those of our fellow citizens who died in the plane crash.' Following the crash, Kansas Senator Roger Marshall said in a statement, 'Tonight, we received devastating news of what can only be described as nothing short of a nightmare. A plane, traveling to the Nation's capital from Wichita, KS carrying roughly 60 passengers collided with a Military helicopter. My prayer is that God wraps his arms around each and every victim, and that he continues to be with their families.' During the news conference on Wednesday night, Marshall noted, 'When one person dies, it's a tragedy, but when many, many, many people die, it's an unbearable sorrow. It's a heartbreak beyond measure.' President Donald Trump responded to the crash in a post on Truth Social, calling the incident 'not good' and declaring it a 'terrible night.' 'The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport,' he wrote on the social media platform. 'The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a clear night, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn't the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn't the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane. This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented.' A cause for the collision has yet to be determined. Trump's defense secretary Pete Hegseth said on X that an investigation will be 'launched immediately' by the Army and the Department of Defense. 'Absolutely tragic,' he wrote. 'Search and rescue efforts still ongoing. Prayers for all impacted souls, and their families.' The Associated Press reports that prior to landing, air traffic controllers asked the American Airlines flight if it could land on Reagan's shorter Runway 33 and the pilots agreed to do so. After it was cleared to land, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter, which was on a training flight, if it had the jet in sight and then made a second call to the helicopter instructing it to pass behind the plane. Audio from air traffic control was obtained by Reuters via a source for in-flight recording. One controller can be heard saying 'Crash, crash, crash, this is an alert three' at the time of the collision. Another added, 'Both the helicopter and the plane crashed in the river. It was probably out in the middle of the river. I just saw a fireball and then it was just gone. I haven't seen anything since they hit the river. But it was a CRJ and a helicopter that hit.' Incoming flights were subsequently rerouted to the nearby Dulles International Airport. Reagan Airport will reopen at 11 a.m. ET today, according to Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority president Jack Potter. This morning, Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation, confirmed that both the American Airlines plane and the Black Hawk were in a standard flight pattern. He said both aircrafts have been located, with the jet broken into three sections in waist-deep water. 'Safety is our expectation,' Duffy said. 'That didn't happen last night.' He added that the Trump administration would 'not rest' until they had answers. When asked if it is safe for travelers to resume flying, Duffy responded, 'Can I guarantee the American flying public that the US has the most safe and secure airspace in the world? And the answer to that is absolutely yes, we do. We have early indicators of what happened here, and I will tell you with complete confidence, we have the safest airspace in the world.' American Airlines CEO Robert Isom released a statement on Wednesday night. 'Our concern is for the passengers and crew on board the aircraft,' he said. 'We are in contact with authorities and assisting with emergency response efforts.' This morning he added that the airline's focus was on supporting all of those involved. Isom called the incident 'devastating,' adding, 'We're absolutely heartbroken for the family and loved ones of the passengers and crew members.' Fatal commercial aircraft crashes are unusual in the U.S. The most recent deadly crash occurred in 2009 when a Bombardier DHC-8 propeller plane crashed into a house near Buffalo, killing 45 passengers, four crew members, and one person on the ground. In 1982, an Air Florida flight crashed into the Potomac River, resulting in the deaths of 78 people. This story is developing Best of Rolling Stone Every Super Bowl Halftime Show, Ranked From Worst to Best The United States of Weed Gaming Levels Up
