Latest news with #Flight4514
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
There Was Nearly Another Aviation Accident 24 Hours Before Fatal Potomac Crash
Just 24 hours before Wednesday's catastrophic plane crash over the Potomac in which a regional American Airlines jet collided with a Black Hawk helicopter, another plane was forced to abort its planned landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport for the same reason. On Tuesday, The Washington Post reported, a Republic Airways flight en route from Connecticut to D.C. was forced to approach the airport for a second time after a military helicopter blocked its flight path during its initial approach. The plane's route, circling around Reagan National and then back again, can be tracked via Flight Aware. Despite the delay, Republic Airways Flight 4514 landed safely and about 13 minutes ahead of following evening, American Airlines Flight 5342 collided with an Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter running a training mission. All 60 people aboard the airplane were killed, as were the three soldiers in the helicopter. It ends the longest aviation safety streak in U.S. history. A commercial aircraft hasn't crashed since 2009, when a Colgan aircraft operated by Continental crashed into a residential home in New York. Fifty people lost their lives in that incident—the 49 people onboard the plane and one person inside the home. Radio transmissions from Wednesday's tragedy indicate that air traffic control warned the helicopter it was getting too close to the regional aircraft just moments before the crash. On Thursday, it was discovered that there was a single air traffic controller performing the jobs of two people at the time of the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting an investigation into the incident, but said that at this point it's 'too early to tell' if human or mechanical error led to the crash.
USA Today
31-01-2025
- General
- USA Today
Passenger plane forced to abort landing at DC airport the day before deadly plane crash
Passenger plane forced to abort landing at DC airport the day before deadly plane crash Show Caption Hide Caption Air travelers in DC react to midair collision: 'Anything can happen' Some travelers at Ronald Reagan National Airport expressed nervousness about flying after the midair collision over the Potomac River. Just one day before the deadly crash between an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter near the nation's capital on Wednesday evening, a passenger jet had to abort its initial landing at Reagan National Airport after a chopper appeared in its flight path, airline officials and radar data confirmed. FlightAware, a site that tracks flight paths, shows Republic Airways Flight 4514 − bound for the same airport − departed from Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut on Thursday at 6:50 p.m. ET. The town is in Hartford County, just under 15 miles north of the state's capitol. Upon its first approach, about 7 p.m. ET, the airplane can be seen on radar diverting from its scheduled course, then turning west, circling around, and landing during a second attempt to land at Reagan National Airport. According to an audio recording from air traffic control, the passenger airliner had to make a second approach "after a helicopter appeared near its flight path," Republic Airways Corporate Communication spokesperson Jon Austin confirmed to USA TODAY on Friday. The Washington Post first reported the incident. The mishap came one day before AA Flight 5342 − carrying 60 passengers and four crewmembers − collided with a Black Hawk trying to land at Reagan National Airport. The helicopter had three people on board. All are feared dead, officials said Thursday. 'He died doing what he absolutely loved' Flight attendant death confirmed in crash The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, which confirmed Thursday that divers had recovered black boxes from the passenger plane. During a news conference, NTSB member Todd Inman said the military helicopter was also equipped "with some form of recording." "We feel comfortable and confident" the chopper boxes would be recovered, Inman told reporters Thursday afternoon. USA TODAY has reached out to the NTSB, the Federal Aviation Administration about Tuesday's reported incident. Who does the helicopter belong to? It was not immediately known whether the chopper belonged to the military, a hospital or was a private aircraft. But the plane reached an altitude of about 1,600 feet during its first descent, FlightAware shows. At the same time, the airline's spokesperson confirmed audio and flight-tracking data showed the helicopter flew about 300 feet from the ground. According to audio from while approaching runway 19, air traffic control warned the jet about a nearby helicopter. Republic Airways Flight 4514's landing delayed by less than 10 minutes FlightAware's log shows the incident caused the flight's landing to be delayed just under 10 minutes. The plane arrived at the gate at 8:16 p.m., according to the online site. No injuries were reported. This is a developing story. Contributing: USA TODAY's Charles Ventura Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@ and follow her on X @nataliealund.
USA Today
31-01-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
DC plane crash live updates: Latest on victims, NTSB investigation into cause of crash
DC plane crash live updates: Latest on victims, NTSB investigation into cause of crash Show Caption Hide Caption Investigators still searching for black box in DC plane crash National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jennifer Homendy says they're working to recover the black box from aircrafts that collided near D.C. WASHINGTON – Investigators on Friday worked to piece together what exactly led to the collision of a passenger plane and a U.S. Army helicopter that killed 67 people as families, officials and communities across the U.S. and in other countries mourned the victims of the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board said investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the Bombardier CRJ700 airplane and will analyze the black boxes for critical information about the moments leading up to the crash. Officials are still searching for one recorder from the Black Hawk helicopter. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said authorities will "leave no stone unturned in this investigation" and promised a "whole-of-government effort." While authorities focus on the cause of the crash, families across world are mourning loved ones. The victims of the crash include a pilot who was planning to be married in the fall, a student heading back to college after attending a funeral, an attorney returning home on her birthday, teen figure skaters as well as their parents and coaches, and at least two Chinese citizens. "This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation's capital and in our nation's history," President Donald Trump said from the White House on Thursday. "As one nation we grieve for every precious soul that has been taken from us so suddenly ... we are in mourning." More: Students, Olympic skaters, families and more. A tribute to lives lost in the DC plane crash Read more: What we know about the victims in the plane, helicopter collision Reports: Another jet had to abort landing day before crash A day before the horrific midair collision between an American Airlines flight and Army helicopter near the nation's capital, a passenger airplane had to abort its first landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport after a chopper appeared in its flight path, The Washington Post and CNN reported. The Post, citing an audio recording from air traffic control, reported that Republic Airways Flight 4514 had to "make a second approach after a helicopter appeared near its flight path." The plane, flying from Connecticut, reached an altitude of about 1,600 feet during its first descent, while the helicopter was at about 300 feet, according to CNN. The Post first reported the Tuesday incident. − Charles Ventura
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
D.C. plane crash live updates: One black box found, 67 dead after American Airlines flight collides with military helicopter
An American Airlines plane with 60 passengers and four crew members onboard collided with a military helicopter near Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night, plunging into the Potomac River. Washington's Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said Thursday morning that 28 bodies were recovered from the scene: 27 passengers from the jet and one from the helicopter. "At this point, we don't believe there are any survivors from this accident," Donnelly said, adding that first responders were "switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation." See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. The commercial flight from Wichita, Kan., was making its approach to Reagan National Airport when the collision occurred shortly before 9 p.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The Black Hawk helicopter — operating out of Fort Belvoir, Va., with a crew of three — was on a training mission, according to the Defense Department. Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell's office told CNN Thursday evening that one of two black boxes aboard the American flight had been recovered. Among those who died in the crash were figure skaters and their family members and coaches. U.S. Figure Skating, the national governing body for the sport, said "several members of our skating community" were on board the flight from Kansas, "returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships." At a press briefing on Thursday, President Trump held a moment of silence for the crash victims. "We are in mourning," he said. "This has really shaken a lot of people, including people, sadly, from other nations who were on the flight." One of two black boxes aboard American Airlines Flight 5342 was recovered on Thursday, Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell's office told CNN. Assuming their contents are undamaged, the plane's black boxes could help investigators pinpoint the cause of Wednesday night's deadly collision with a Black Hawk helicopter. Twenty-four hours before Wednesday's deadly crash between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter, a near miss between another helicopter and a commercial plane transpired, the Washington Post reported. As Republic Airlines Flight 4514 approached Reagan National Airport just after 8:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the plane's cockpit crew alerted the control tower that a helicopter had appeared near its flight path. 'We had an RA with a helicopter traffic below us,' a crew member told air traffic controllers at roughly 8:05 p.m., the Post reported, using the abbreviation for a resolution advisory, which pilots use to indicate their plane is at risk of colliding with another aircraft. Flight 4514 aborted its initial attempt at landing, making a loop and successfully touching down at 8:16 p.m., according to flight records obtained by the Post. Updating her statement issued earlier in the day, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) superintendent Michelle Reid said Thursday evening that three students and six parents from FCPS "were lost" in Wednesday night's plane crash at Reagan National Airport. 'What we know at this time is that three of our FCPS students and six of our FCPS parents were lost, affecting multiple schools and departments here at FCPS,' Reid said, adding that two of the parents killed were current or former school staff members. At a Thursday press conference, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said that the National Transportation Safety Board would likely make the manifest for American Airlines Flight 5342 available by Friday afternoon. The NTSB has not yet identified the identities of the passengers, all of whom are believed to have died in Wednesday night's crash with a Black Hawk helicopter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, because it is still in the process of notifying the families of those presumed killed. 'There are some folks who were on that plane who were from overseas and so that's partially the reason for the delay,' Kelly said. Last May, Congress voted to add five new long-distance round-trip flights to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport as part of an extensive bill authorizing $105 billion to the Federal Aviation Administration. But months earlier, in February 2024, four Democratic senators from Maryland and Virginia, including Sen. Tim Kaine, issued a statement warning that air traffic at Reagan was already congested and that allowing that many additional incoming and outgoing flights would be "reckless" and "gambling with the safety of everyone who uses this airport." In December, the Department of Transportation announced that it had awarded five airlines slots to fly passengers from Reagan to select western destinations, from San Antonio to Seattle. Wichita Mayor Lily Wu and Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly held a news conference Thursday afternoon to give updates on Wednesday night's plane crash. American Airlines Flight 5342 had taken off from Wichita, Kan., before colliding with a helicopter near a runway at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport. "I'm proud that this community is coming together in a time like this," Wu said at her second press conference of the day. "A tragic event that should unite us all to remember that life is precious." Gov. Kelly said that Kansas officials were in communication with federal partners to investigate what caused the plane collision. "Both the mayor and I have been on the phone constantly since last night with representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board, from the governors of Virginia and Maryland and all sorts of other folks who are involved in this tragedy," Kelly said. Wednesday night's fatal crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport involving a commercial airplane and a Black Hawk military helicopter has drawn renewed attention to air traffic controllers and what role they may have played in the accident that is believed to have killed 67 people. The disaster, the cause of which remains under investigation, comes during a long-running nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers, and staffing may have played a factor. The control tower at Reagan Airport has been understaffed for years, the New York Times reported, and at the time of the crash, a controller who was in charge of helicopter traffic was also tasked with instructing planes, the Associated Press reported. Ideally, those jobs are handled by two Airlines CEO Robert Isom sent a letter to employees on Thursday that the airline's top priority was supporting the families of the passengers lost in Wednesday night's "heartbreaking accident." "Right now, the strength of the entire airline is focused on taking care of the families and loved ones of those on board," Isom said. "I'm on the ground in D.C. along with members of our GO Team, and we are deploying all of our resources to make sure we do everything we can to take care of the needs of the families and loved ones of our passengers and crew members," Isom said in the letter. "That is our priority." He also thanked first responders who continued recovery efforts. Locals in Wichita, Kan., came together Thursday afternoon for a public prayer vigil at city hall to remember the victims of the deadly collision between an American Airlines jet that took off from Wichita and collided with an Army helicopter on its descent into Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. "Tragedies like this remind us that we are one community; whether a Wichitan, a Kansan or an American," Wichita Mayor Lily Wu said Thursday. "We are one community and in times of struggle, we do come together in grief and sadness to lift one another." A preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration obtained by multiple news outlets said that staffing in the air traffic control tower at Reagan National Airport was "not normal" at the time of the midair collision on Wednesday. According to the Associated Press, one air traffic controller was working two positions at the time of the crash. The New York Times reported that the controller was managing both helicopters and planes in the vicinity. 'The position configuration was not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,' the FAA stated. The father of one of the two pilots on board the plane that collided with the military helicopter told Fox 5 in Atlanta that he is grieving the death of his 28-year-old son, Sam Lilley. "This is undoubtedly the worst day of my life," Timothy Lilley said. Sam Lilley, of Savannah, Ga., was engaged and planned to get married in the fall, his father said. Timothy Lilley described himself as a longtime former Army helicopter pilot who is familiar with the air traffic in the Washington, D.C., area. "I was a helicopter pilot in the Army for 20 years. In the '90s, I used to fly in and out of the Pentagon regularly, and I can tell you if you are flying on the route over the Potomac and wearing night vision goggles, it's going to be very hard to see that plane. If you're not wearing the goggles, then you might have a chance," he said. Investigators have yet to determine what caused the deadly collision. U.S. officials said that the helicopter was on a routine nighttime training mission and that the crew was equipped with night vision goggles, but it's unclear whether they were using them at the time of the incident. 'From what I can see, those guys turned right into the jet," Timothy Lilley said. "I think the PSA jet was doing everything right. The Army pilot made a grave error. It hurts me because those are my brothers, and now my son is dead.' At the press briefing, National Transportation Safety Board member J. Todd Inman said it is too soon to say what caused the deadly mid-air collision between the commercial jet and military helicopter. Inman said that the NTSB investigative team will be on scene "as long as it takes" to determine "not just what happened, but why it happened, and to recommend changes to prevent it from happening again." "We will not be determining the probable cause of the accident while we are here on scene," he said. "Nor will we speculate about what may have caused this accident." The NTSB hopes to release a preliminary report on the crash within 30 days, Inman said. During a Q&A with reporters, Inman said investigators have not ruled out human error or mechanical failure as a possible cause. "We don't know enough facts yet to be able to rule in or out either," he said. The flight data recorders from the American Airlines jet and Army helicopter that collided Wednesday evening have not been recovered yet, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday. "We know they're there. They are underwater," Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the NTSB, told reporters. "This is not unusual for the NTSB. We have many times recovered flight data recorders in water. We have our lab right here that's about a mile from the NTSB." Captain Chelsey "Sully" Sullenberger, who safely landed a passenger plane in the Hudson River in 2009, told the New York Times that Wednesday night's crash happened during an "exceptionally safe" period in aviation history but is a reminder of "how vigilant we have to be." Before Wednesday, there hadn't been a fatal commercial plane crash in the U.S. in nearly 16 years. 'We've had to learn important lessons literally with blood too often, and we had finally gotten beyond that, to where we could learn from incidents, and not accidents,' Sullenberger said. The retired pilot and aviation expert also said Reagan National Airport, the destination of the American Airlines plane that collided with the Army helicopter, was built in the 1930's and is one of the nation's most challenging airports to navigate. 'It hasn't changed much since then,' Sullenberger said of the airport. 'Of course, we've added technology to it. But a lot of the technology is old.' Wednesday night's tragic collision involving an American Airlines jet and Army helicopter over the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport highlighted issues of congested airspace in Washington, D.C. The area has multiple military bases and three major airports, meaning military aircraft and passenger airplanes share the same airspace. Last year there were two near-miss incidents at Reagan National Airport that caused alarm involving civilian aircraft and coincided with a shortage of air traffic controllers. Reuters reports: Reagan National is particularly busy. Over a three-year period ending in 2019, there were 88,000 helicopter flights within 30 miles (48 km) of Reagan National Airport, including about 33,000 military and 18,000 law enforcement flights, the Government Accountability Office said in a 2021 report. Read more from Reuters: Washington, D.C. airspace challenges highlighted by passenger jet and Army helicopter collision Members of the international skating community have been paying tribute Thursday to the victims of the fatal collision on Wednesday night between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines aircraft, which had reportedly been carrying several U.S. and Russian figure skaters along with their coaches and family members. Two-time figure skating Olympic medalist Nancy Kerrigan spoke to the media on Thursday: "I feel for the athletes, the skaters and their families," she said, "but anyone that was on that plane, not just the skaters because it's just such a tragic event. ... Tell people around you that you love them because you just never know." Former Olympic silver medalist Ashley Wagner posted a message on her Instagram Story that read: 'My heart breaks for my skating family today. I can't put into words what this feeling is — I'm horrified, heartbroken, devastated and shocked. It makes you realize that 'my heart goes out to' and 'condolences to the families' simply are not enough.' Former Olympic gold medalist Tara Lapinski wrote a message on her Instagram Story that accompanied a screenshot of a news headline about the tragic crash. "It's unimaginable the loss," she wrote. "We will mourn their loss and ALWAYS remember them. My heart is with all the families affected — that part I have no words for. 'Strength' and 'love' won't do it justice. So many of our own were on this tragic flight and my heart aches, for them and for everyone part of this devastating accident.' Witnesses in the vicinity of the crash have been describing to various news outlets what they saw and heard. Ari Schulman, of Alexandria, Va., told CNN that he was driving home along a highway near Reagan National Airport looking at the line of planes coming in when he "saw sparks flying" on the underside of a plane. "I believe what I saw was the collision," Schulman said. "It looked like a Roman candle." Courtney Cain told the Washington Post she was at home at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling when she heard a bang outside. She looked out her window and saw a flash and immediately feared it might have been a plane crash. Those fears were soon realized when she saw news of the crash on television. 'I'm honestly still shaking,' Cain said. Another witness, Abadi Ismail, told Reuters that he was getting ready to go to bed at his home in south Washington, D.C., when he heard a loud bang. He said it was "a very unusual sound, something you don't hear on a daily basis. "It's more like in a war zone, something you hear on the movies, action," Ismail said. "So that caught my attention. I looked at the sky, I looked out the window, and all I could see at that moment was just smoke from the south side of Reagan Airport." U.S. figure skater Spencer Lane, 16, was on board the American Airlines jet that collided with an Army helicopter. Spencer shared a photo aboard the jet on the runway to his Instagram Story before it took off on Wednesday. The post read "ICT -> DCA," which are the airport codes to indicate he was traveling from Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, in Kansas, to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in Washington, D.C. The six members of Kansas's congressional delegation — including four House members and two senators — released a joint statement mourning those killed in the crash: Our prayers are with the families and friends of those affected by the tragic plane crash that occurred in our nation's capital. South central Kansas is a close community, and it's likely that many of us directly or indirectly know people who were on Flight 5342 on Jan. 29. This is a sad day for Kansans and our nation, and this community, steeped in aviation and manufacturing history, will feel the pain of this catastrophe for years to come. We are grateful for the first responders and rescue crews who worked through the night. Our focus now is supporting the family and friends of those who perished, including the crew and military personnel, and then getting answers for the grieving individuals who have lost a loved one and making sure this doesn't happen again. As the skating world mourns athletes who died in a midair collision aboard an American Airlines airplane late Wednesday, the second day of the European figure skating championships continued as scheduled in Estonia on Thursday. The International Skating Union, which is the event's governing body, released a statement, saying, "Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy. Figure skating is more than a sport—it's a close-knit family—and we stand together."
