30-01-2025
American Airlines Tragedy Ends Longest Aviation Safety Streak in U.S. History
Wednesday night's catastrophic plane crash over the Potomac has ended the longest aviation safety streak in United States history.
The crash occurred around 8:45 p.m. on Jan. 29 as an American Airlines jet was about to land at Ronal Reagan International Airport. The jet collided with a Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers on a training mission. On Thursday morning, District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief John Donnelly issued a grim update, telling reporters: "We don't believe there are any survivors.'
The tragedy ended a record-long safety streak for the U.S. aviation industry. Wednesday night's airplane crash is the first deadly commercial airline crash on American soil since Feb. 12, 2009.
In that incident, a Colgan aircraft operated by Continental crashed into a residential home in Clarence Center, New York, killing the 49 passengers and crew on board as well as one person in the home. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board determined that the crash was likely caused by the pilots not appropriately reacting to stall warnings. Stall warnings are a mechanism that prevents the aircraft's pilots from "issuing control commands which would force the aircraft to exceed its structural and aerodynamic operating limits."The crash resulted in some changes to laws governing safe operating procedures and pilots' working conditions after the victim's family lobbied Congress to enact stricter regulations.
At a press conference on Thursday, Donnelly told reporters that they were pivoting from a rescue mission to a recovery operation. So far, 27 bodies have been recovered from the airplane and one has been recovered from the helicopter. Divers believe they found one of the aircraft's two data recorders, or 'black boxes,' which may shine light on the fateful moments before the crash.
