The US military helicopter crashed like those that dropped US Airways Travele The Botomac River in Washington, DC, has been very rare on Wednesday night, but there has been a rise in these incidents in recent years, according to military statistics and airline expert.
A total of 64 people, including passengers and airline members, were on board the AA 5342 from Witchita to Reagan National Airport (DCA). There were three soldiers performing a training operation on Sikorsky Army UH-60 Black Hawk This came from Fort Balfwar in Virginia.
“It is exciting, certainly, the number of accidents there was,” Timothy Laranger, a flying lawyer in Wesnner Baum and a warrior at the Marine Corps, told Fox News Digital. “But if you compare it with thousands and thousands of hours of flights that occur without any accident … that's all very good.”
The collision raised questions about how such a devastating accident occurred in one of the most tightly controlled air spaces in the country and the world. Another important killer accident occurred in 2009, when the Continental Airlines flight was crashed into a house in Buffalo, New York, killing 49 people.
Capital plane crash line: The air collision includes 67 passengers, crew members and soldiers
The crew retrieves the 5342 US Airways flight in the Botomac River near Washington, DC, on January 30, 2025. The plane was involved in a deadly collision with a Black Hawk helicopter in the US Army the night before. (Lee Green in favor of Fox News Digital)
“Is there something we can refer to? Training? Is the army budget sufficient to ensure that the pilots and the crew have enough training and experience for flying these planes?” Laranger said. “These are the types of questions that must be asked. If it is a problem with the plane itself, and it is a mechanical problem, what is this? Is it a design problem? Is it a manufacturing problem? Is it a maintenance problem?”
The military helicopter, although it is not common, crashes frequently over the past year, according to army data.
The FBI agents are standing near the debris, after the 5342 US Airways flight with Black Hawk helicopter collided while approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed into the Potomac River in Armington, Virginia, on January 30, 2025. (Kevin Lamark/Reuters)
The fiscal year had 2024 the most severe aviation accidents that led to death since the 2014 fiscal year and the worst death rate and severe injuries to accidents per 100,000 hours since the 2007 fiscal year, According to army statistics.
Fox News calculated at least 10 deaths from the US military helicopter alone in 2024, including Five naval infantry on the same planeAnd the injury of many others. Since 2012, there have been 21 Black Hawk deaths.
Laranger called on the death of the military helicopter last year “regarding.”
Watch: Video showing a plane crash
On Friday, the Defense Minister of Defense told “Fox & Friends” that officials “will reach the bottom of what happened here.”
“It is completely unacceptable in our nation’s capital or anywhere. He trains the military, and trainses strongly. We will not stop training, despite a stop in this unit, on this exercise, which is important. Higseth said:“ We must stop Temporary until we reach the bottom of this. ”… We have to train safely. Something like this can never happen. It is completely unacceptable. “
Watch: HegSeth pledged to provide answers
It is clear that the official of the responsible coach who was flying in Black Hawk on Wednesday due to a training process, apparently 1000 flying hours, which are very experienced, and the participating pilot who was also evaluated had 500 flights, which is considered an average average of Experience, according to the US official, occurs to Fox News.
“This is a relatively easy road,” said a five -time army, a five -time army officer, in the army's flight flying from the army to reporters in the Pentagon on Thursday. The pilot was flying in the middle of the river, which was generally dark, he would like to wear night vision glasses. The memorial bridge was the last checkpoint.
January 29, DC, Hilicopter collision map.
Rigan National Airport crashes: Black Hawk military helicopter crashes with the US Airways plane
The army's high army pilot and the officer officer told reporters that his military pilot and other government helicopters fly almost the same road daily.
“This should not be a problem,” the official said.
Loranger DCA described as “a very complex air field, very busy air field.”
Pictures of victims after colliding between the American Airlines and an American Black Hawk helicopter. (Getty Images)
“There are a lot of aircraft and aircraft that fly inward and outside,” he said, adding that the aircraft have systems to help provide information to the pilots about pilots or other things that fly nearby to avoid clashes such as those on Wednesday. Laranger said it might be difficult for the commercial plane and Black Hawk to see each other at night over the river.
The DCA Air Monitoring Tower was “not normal for the time of the day and the volume The New York Times.
The victims who were identified in the crash
The observer that was Helicopter aircraft processing On Wednesday night, there were also instructions on the planes that were landing and leaving from the airport runways, the Times said. These tasks are usually assigned to console.
A plane is flying near the Ronald Reagan Washington Airport, following the collision of the 5342 American Eagle and the Black Hawk helicopter crashed into the Potomac River in Arlington, Virginia, on January 30, 2025. (Eduardo Monoz/Reuters)
“I don't know exactly how this recruitment in this air traffic control tower happened,” said Fox & Friends. “It seems that there is a shortage (from the console), and the investigation will tell us more. But the environment around which we choose pilots or air traffic monitors, as the president properly indicated yesterday, is the best possible standard – the best than the best who runs … a trip in The minute and radio traffic management.
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Fox News Digital has arrived at FAA.
Air Monitoring Tower at Reagan Airport for years with 19 fully accredited control units as of September 2023. However, FFA and control units called for 30 recruitment control units.
This report contributed to this report, Fox News, “Jennifer Griffin, Les Faridin and Luis Cassiano.
