Latest news with #FlightNo.5342
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
NTSB looking at possible bad data, missed tower message in Army chopper's collision with jet
Feb. 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. Army Black Hawk crew possibly didn't know there was an impending collision with a American Airlines jet in Washington, D.C., that resulted in the most deadly crash in the United States in 23 years, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jennifer Homendy said Friday. This included bad information on the altitude from the altimeter and missed information from air traffic control, she said at a news conference in Washington. "We are looking at the possibility of there may be bad data" Homendy said. "We have a lot of work to do till we get to that." NTSB has analyzing flight data and voice transmissions from the black boxes. There was a discrepancy in the altitude of the Sikorsky UH-60. At 8:43 p.m. ET, the pilot flying indicated they were at about 300 feet, but an instructor pilot indicated they were at about 400 feet. "Neither pilot made a comment discussing an altitude discrepancy," she said. "At this time, we don't know why there was a discrepancy between the two. That's something the investigative team is analyzing." Also, the crew might not have heard a transmission from the tower that instructed them to go behind the plane because it was at 1,200 feet and circling just south of the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge. Seconds before the crash, the tower had asked the Black Hawk whether it had the airplane in sight and advised it to directly pass behind the jet, audio from the tower shows. The pilot may have keyed her radio at the same second and stepped on the transmission from air traffic control, the NTSB added. And the Black Hawk crew members were likely wearing night vision goggles throughout the flight, which would affect their vision. It is like "looking through soda straws," said Dean Winslow, a retired Air Force colonel not involved in the investigation, told NBC News. Pilots were required to wear those goggles as part of an annual training flight. Capt. Rebecca Lobach, an aviation officer since 2019 with about 500 flying hours, was undergoing the night portion of the exam. American Eagle Flight No. 5342 was preparing to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when it collided with the Black Hawk. Both aircraft plunged into the Potomac River at 8:47 p.m. with no survivors among the 64 aboard the jet and three in the helicopter. The Black Hawk was equipped with an advanced surveillance technology that helps the aircraft share more accurate data with air traffic controllers, known as an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B. Homendy said NTSB could not say whether it was turned off. "A lot of people are asking about was it turned off, there are other things we have to rule out first," she said. Homendy praised Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy for restricting helicopter traffic around Reagan airport after the crash.
CBS News
31-01-2025
- General
- CBS News
What we know about the American Airlines plane and Army helicopter crash over D.C.'s Potomac River
A passenger jet and a Black Hawk helicopter collided in midair Wednesday and crashed into the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. President Trump confirmed Thursday that there were no survivors. Many of the victims have yet to be publicly identified. The plane, American Eagle Flight No. 5342, a regional jetliner, was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members on a flight from Wichita, Kansas. There were three soldiers aboard the U.S. Army's Sikorsky H-60, a Defense Department official told CBS News. At least 40 bodies had been recovered as of Thursday evening, a law enforcement source told CBS News. District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief John Donnelly earlier said that efforts at the scene had switched from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. Here's what we know so far about the crash: What happened? American Eagle Flight No. 5342, which was operated by PSA Airlines, collided midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter at around 9 p.m. Wednesday while approaching a runway at Reagan National Airport, the FAA said. The plane had taken off from Wichita, Kansas. American Eagle and PSA Airlines are subsidiaries of American Airlines. The helicopter involved in the collision was on a training flight and had belonged to B Company, 12th Aviation Battalion out of Fort Belvoir in Virginia, Joint Task Force-National Capitol Region media chief Heather Chairez told CBS News. A livestream camera at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., captured the moment of the collision. The video, which has been verified by CBS News, shows an explosion in the area of the Potomac River at 8:47 p.m. Eastern. What we know about the the search operation D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly told reporters in a news briefing Thursday morning that 27 bodies had been recovered from the plane and one from the helicopter. He said, "We don't believe there are any survivors," adding that the efforts at the scene have switched from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. "It's a highly complex operation, the conditions out there are extremely rough for the responders. It's cold. They're dealing with relatively windy conditions," Donnelly said. CBS News senior transportation and national correspondent Kris Van Cleave reported that human remains and debris were washing up on the Virginia side of the Potomac River. He said the plane broke into multiple pieces that were sitting in 5-8 feet of water. The flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder, commonly known as black boxes, have been recovered from the crashed plane, the NTSB confirmed. They will be analyzed at the NTSB lab, which is located about a mile from the crash site. Divers have had some access to the aircraft's cabin. Luggage is among items divers have recovered. The helicopter is upside down but appears to be mostly intact, Van Cleave added. What we know about the plane crash victims Top figure skaters from Russia and the United States — including 6 people with ties to the Skating Club of Boston — were among the victims. Athletes Jinna Han and Spencer Lane, their mothers Jin Han and Christine Lane, and skating coaches Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were all on board the flight, said Doug Zeghibe, the skating club's CEO and executive director. They were returning home from the National Development Camp, which was held in connection with the recent U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita. Spencer Lane's father, Rhode Island resident Douglas Lane, told CBS affiliate WPRI his 16-year-old son was a "force of nature" who picked up figure skating just three years ago and progressed rapidly. Douglas Lane described his wife, Christine, as a caring and creative person who excelled in graphic design, photography and quilting. Naumov and Shishkova, a couple, are Russian-born figure skaters who won the 1994 World Figure Skating Championship and had been coaching at the club. They shared a son, Maxim Naumov, who is a competitive skater on Team USA. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed earlier that Naumov and Shishkova were on the flight along with other Russian nationals. Another victim in the crash, Asra Hussain Raza, had recently relocated to Washington, D.C., for a consulting position and was traveling home from a work trip when the collision occurred, her father-in-law, Hashim Raza, told CBS News. The 26-year-old was a graduate of the University of Indiana and Columbia University, her father-in-law said. Four members of a Maryland-based labor union, the Steamfitters United Association Local 602, were also on the flight, union leaders said in a social media post Thursday. The union represents heating, air conditioning, refrigeration and process piping industries in the D.C. Metro area. The crew chief of the helicopter was identified as 29-year-old Ryan O'Hara, CBS News learned Thursday. O'Hara was a husband and father to a 1-year-old son, his local Reserve Officers' Training Corps program said in a social media post about his death. Politicians react to the crash President Trump addressed the crash during a briefing at the White House Thursday morning, where he confirmed that there were no survivors. "I speak to you this morning in an hour of anguish for our nation," Mr. Trump said. He also criticized the Biden administration and attacked diversity initiatives but offered no evidence linking the former president's policies to the crash. Mr. Trump, who claimed that he had increased standards for those who work within the aviation industry, announced he'd appointed Christopher Rocheleau as acting commissioner of the FAA. Mr. Trump said the investigation into the collision is ongoing and "we have some pretty good ideas" about what caused it. In an earlier statement, the president said, "Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders. I am monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise." And in a Truth Social post, he questioned what led up to the crash, writing, "This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!" Newly confirmed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on social media that the Pentagon was actively monitoring the situation and "poised to assist if needed." Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall said in a statement, "Tonight, we received devastating news of what can only be described as nothing short of a nightmare ... My prayer is that God wraps his arms around each and every victim, and that he continues to be with their families." Alexandria, Virginia, Mayor Alyia Gaskins said on social media, "Earlier this evening, we were devastated to learn of a tragic aviation incident near DCA. Our prayers are with everyone affected. Our fire, police, and emergency personnel are assisting in the regional response." Alexandria is just south of Reagan Washington National Airport. Sen. Tim Kaine, of Virginia, acknowledged "there's a lot of questions" about the deadly collision in its aftermath. "You can't tell a lot from video footage taken at night, but the footage raises a lot of questions about how this happened," Kaine told "CBS Mornings" Thursday. The first major U.S. commercial crash in almost 16 years The last major U.S. commercial air crash occurred in February 2009 when a Continental Airlines flight out of Newark, New Jersey, operated by Colgan Air crashed into a house as it was approaching the airport in Buffalo, New York. That plane was a Bombardier Q400. Forty-nine people died in the tragedy. Continental merged with United Airlines in 2010. The last major American Airlines crash occurred in November 2001 near John F. Kennedy International Airport. American Airlines Flight No. 587, an Airbus A300, crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 265 people. It was bound for Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. The plane crashed in the Belle Harbor area of the Rockaways in the New York City borough of Queens.
New York Times
31-01-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
As Skating Club of Boston mourns jet collision, stunned community leans on history of resilience
NORWOOD, Mass. — It was impossible not to notice the clean, shiny sheet of ice upon stepping inside The Skating Club of Boston on Thursday morning. It was practically beckoning young skaters to get out there and put their magnificent talents on display; instead, the ice remained unused throughout the morning and into the afternoon, a symbol of the heartbreak being felt throughout this venerable century-old institution. Advertisement Of the 67 people killed as a result of the collision of an Army helicopter and American Eagle Flight No. 5342 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night, six of them had ties to the Skating Club of Boston: Skater Jinna Han and her mother, Jin Han; skater Spencer Lane and his mother, Christine Lane; and coaches Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova. They were returning to Boston by way of Washington after participating in a national development camp in Wichita, Kan. Had they returned home, Jinna Han and Spencer Lane would have quickly made plans to get back on the ice at the club's sprawling practice facility. Instead, as a tightly knit community mourned, nobody was skating. GO DEEPER U.S., Russian figure skaters among those on flight that crashed in Washington, D.C. 'In an hour it would be packed,' said Doug Zeghibe, the CEO and executive director of the club, as he stood next to that unused sheet of ice early Thursday afternoon. He ticked off some of the many competitions coming up, including the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships, to be held in March at Boston's TD Garden, hosted by The Skating Club of Boston. With that big event on the schedule, the club has been buzzing with activity. Yet on Thursday, the front lobby was a place where members of Boston's skating community came to share stories and hugs. The visitors included 89-year-old Tenley Albright, a 1956 Olympic champion who was the first American woman to win figure skating gold, and 1994 Olympic silver medalist Nancy Kerrigan. Both women grew up in the Boston area and trained at the Skating Club. The main ice surface at the Norwood facility, which opened in 2020, is called the Tenley E. Albright Performance Center. 'I certainly don't have any answers,' said Albright, who became a prominent surgeon after her figure skating career. 'I really can't believe that it happened, because I picture them right here.' She added: 'The skaters just flew all over the ice, doing remarkable things, inspiring all of us.' Also in attendance was 16-year-old Patrick Blackwell of East Greenwich, R.I., a bronze medalist in the recent U.S. Junior Figure Skating Championships. Blackwell was friends with Spencer Lane. 'It's heartbreaking to know that something like this can affect the community so much,' Blackwell said. 'But all of the community is coming together to acknowledge the passings of everyone. The skaters, their families.' Advertisement Blackwell said Lane was caring, kind, outgoing and happy. 'Every time he landed something new he would come to me and say, 'Hey, I landed this,' 'I landed that.'' The Skating Club of Boston, established in 1912, was based for many years at a modest facility along the Charles River in Boston's Brighton neighborhood, not far from Harvard Stadium. The club's long history, and its Brighton roots, played a role in what was taking place Thursday at the new facility in Norwood. For this is not the Skating Club's first airline tragedy. In 1961, the entire United States figure skating team was killed when the plane escorting its members to the world championships in Prague crashed in Belgium. Ten members of the delegation were from The Skating Club of Boston; a plaque was placed in the club room of the Brighton facility in their memory. When the new facility was opened, the plaque made the trip to Norwood and was placed on a wall on the second floor, across from a lounge that overlooks two of its rinks. For Paul George, a longtime member of The Boston Skating Club, the parallels between the crashes are striking. 'My wife tapped me on the shoulder at 6:30 in the morning and told me, much as my father had done 64 years ago,' George said. 'As Tenley has said, we lost a whole group of friends. We all grew up together, we skated together, we trained together. We even went to parties together.' Connecting 1961 with this latest tragedy, George said, 'We think and pray and hope for their families. And then there will come a time when the music will begin and we will push forward, be more resolute, be more determined.' Ann Buckley, president of The Skating Club of Boston, noted that the 1961 tragedy inspired the club to step out into the community to hold skating lessons, identify talent and rebuild its ranks. 'Perseverance and resilience have been guiding values of our club,' Buckley said. By 5 o'clock, the sheet of ice at the Tenley E. Albright Performance Center remained clean and unused. But outside in the hallway, young skaters continued to arrive, some of them alone, some in groups of two, three or four, hugging and crying as they saw each other, some of them wailing. They have no direct connection with 1961. They are teenagers and young adults, many of them facing real tragedy for the first time. Advertisement They will rally. For now, nobody feels much like skating. 'We will be back out there tomorrow,' said Misha Mitrofanov, 27, who competed in the 2025 U.S. national pairs championship in Wichita with partner Alisa Efimova. 'It's what we do. It's our job.' GO DEEPER What we know about the figure skaters who were on the airplane that crashed in Washington, D.C. (Top photo of Tenley Albright (left), Doug Zeghibe and Nancy Kerrigan during a news conference Thursday at The Skating Club of Boston: Craig F. Walker / The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
CBS News
30-01-2025
- General
- CBS News
Minnesota native killed in D.C. plane crash, family friends say
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota native is among those who died when a passenger jet and a Black Hawk helicopter collided in midair Wednesday night near Reagan National Airport, family friends tell WCCO. The woman grew up in Mahtomedi and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina for work, according to a friend. WCCO is not naming the woman pending confirmation her family has been notified of her death. A GoFundMe set up by friends to help support the woman's family has raised more than $35,000 in less than 24 hours. "Her love, kindness, and unwavering spirit touched everyone who knew her, and her absence leaves a void that can never be filled," the fundraiser says about the victim. The FAA says around 9 p.m., American Eagle Flight No. 5342 collided midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while approaching a runway at Reagan National Airport. The plane, a regional jetliner, had been carrying 60 passengers and four crew members on a flight from Wichita, Kansas. Three soldiers were aboard the helicopter, a Defense Department official told CBS News. It was on a training flight and had belonged to B Company, 12th Aviation Battalion out of Fort Belvoir in Virginia. As of Thursday morning, District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief John Donnelly says 27 bodies have been recovered from the plane and one from the helicopter. President Trump confirmed Thursday that there were no survivors. A livestream camera at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., captured the moment of the collision. The video, which has been verified by CBS News, shows an explosion in the area of the Potomac River at 8:47 p.m. Eastern.
CBS News
30-01-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Philadelphia Skating Club mourns members killed in plane-helicopter crash at Reagan National Airport
Skaters from Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society are among the victims in the tragic crash involving an American Airlines subsidiary's plane and an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Washington D.C., the club said on social media on Thursday. Several U.S. and Russian figure skaters, families and coaches were aboard American Eagle Flight No. 5342, a passenger jet that collided in midair with the helicopter while about to land at Reagan. President Trump and Washington's head of fire and emergency medical services said there were no survivors in the crash. "The Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society is devastated to learn of the crash in Washington D.C. that took the lives of several members of the figure skating community, including beloved members of our club," the club said in a statement posted to social media. "We feel immense grief at the loss of so many talented skaters, their coaches and families. We share this loss and grieve with the entire USFS Community. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone during this tragic time," PSCHS said. There were 60 passengers and four crew members aboard the jet and three people aboard the helicopter, CBS News reported. U.S. Figure Skating told CBS News the flight's passengers were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas. According to U.S. Figure Skating's website, the National Development Camp is where the top juvenile, intermediate and novice athletes from the U.S. Sectional Finals undergo three days of training and education to ramp up their exposure to high performance programs and Team USA. At the conclusion of the camp, qualifying skaters may also be selected for more advanced novice and junior competitions, USFS' website reads. Juvenile skaters tend to be 13 years old or younger and intermediate skaters tend to be 15 years of age or younger, according to USFS guidelines. Novice skaters typically range in age between eight and 15 years old. Most victims of the crash have not been identified, though the Skating Club of Boston named two figure skaters, their mothers and coaches killed in the crash, CBS News Boston reported. The coaches, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, are Russian-born figure skaters and former world champions who coached at the Skating Club of Boston.
