A clash between passenger jet near the Ronal Dragan Washington National Airport and the US Army helicopter late on Wednesday indicated that there was a massive death event in US airspace related to commercial aviation for more than 15 years.
The accident that killed the reported 67 people occurred while the American Airlines 5342 had a final approach to the runway. Officials have said that the Bombardy CRJ700 Regional Jet and the Cichorsky H-60, which are generally known as black hawks, collided only hundreds of meters above the ground.
The plane carried 60 passengers and four crew members. Military helicopters, including pilots, had three service members. Both aircraft collided with the ice -like water area of the Potomax River, and the authorities said they did not believe there were survivors on Thursday.
The accident occurred in the dark at 8:47 pm, and no serious weather issues were reported. On Thursday, the authorities did not identify the cause of the accident.
However, the New York Times on Thursday reviewed the “Interior Federal Aviation Aviation Management Report” and reported that the arrival of the airport control tower at the airport on Wednesday was “unusual.” The newspaper said that a single air traffic controller was instructing incoming and transmitting airplanes, as in local helicopter traffic. These jobs are usually divided into two controllers.
Experts think the crash is abnormal
Aviation experts said that it was as tragic as an accident, but it should be considered an abnormal aviation system for many years.
“A part of it was lucky. Some of them were technology, and most of them were a tremendous job for pilots and air control officers,” said the former United Airlines pilet loss “Rusty”. I talked.
“Our systems are everywhere, so our systems are very crowded, so they literally cause miracles, and the Washington National Airport is probably the most demanding in the world of 60 years of aviation. One of the harsh airports.
Looking back on 2009, you need to find the same commercial disaster in the US airspace. At that time, the Colgan Air Jet on the way from New Jersey to Buffalo, New York, stagnated during the approach, collided with his house, killed 49 passengers, crew, and one of his homes.
In 2013, the Asian Airlines jet dropped Crash during landing in San Francisco, California. Two passengers who did not wear a seat belt were killed when they were thrown from the plane, and died after being hit by a Termac emergency vehicle. There were 187 injured people, but many were serious, but there were no other deaths.
Recently, there were many other famous cases involving US airlines, but there were no large -scale casualties. For example, last year, a 737 -of -a -737 doorplag of Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 was blown away, but the airplane landed safely, but some passengers were seriously injured.
Experts emphasized that such events occur in only a few million flights held in the United States every year.
Robert W. Man Jr., an analyst in the air industry and executive of the former airline, says that the US commercial aviation industry is very low -level safety accidents and “the level of fatal accidents is even lower.” I talked to.
“It's not luck, it's an effort,” he said. “I am grateful that there are so many experts in the sales environment. In the monitoring environment, focusing on safety is the highest priority.”
The crash occurs in a crowded airspace
The accident occurred in one of the most crowded and highly regulated sectors in the United States. In the Washington area, there are three major airports, 11 regional airports, and dozens of heliports. This does not count multiple military facilities in the aviation business area.
Keith M. Cianfrani, a retired U.S. Army Colonel, who served as a flying instructor and an accident investigator, told VOA that he flew a helicopter in an area where the accident occurred and later as a commercial pilot.
“It's crowded,” said Cianhrani, who is currently working as an air safety consultant and a part -time professor at the Embrey Riddle Airlines. “So, as long as there is a separation of traffic, it is not unusual to cross the way (plane) that comes in (plane).”
Traffic separation refers to the distance between aircraft in the same area and space.
But Cianfrani said there were very clear rules about where the aircraft is and when to be there for congestion. The helicopter said he had to follow a specific route when passing through the area.
“Overall, the general aeronautical industry in the United States is outstanding,” he said. “All of them are what we call SMS -we need to comply with the safety management system. They are regularly audited. They have an internal audit program. Programs.
Sales in federal aerial monitoring
The Wednesday accident occurred when the federal government's leader in charge of flight safety was reviewed by President Donald Trump's new administration.
After his inauguration, Trump rejected David Pecoske, the administrator of the Transport Security Bureau, and disbanded the Aviation Safety Advisory Committee. This provides the Federal Government's recommendation on aviation safety. He also began frozen employment and hindered the employment of a new aircraft controller.
Sean Duffy, a director of the Federal Aviation Bureau (FAA), was sworn the day before CRASH dropped.
Michael Whitaker, FAA administrator in the former President Joe Biden, announced that he will resign on January 20, when Trump was appointed in December.
The new president has not yet nominated the permanent alternative of Witaker, but on Thursday he has been nominated as a former Air Force Officer, Chris Roquerowo, who spent more than 20 years in FAA.
Trump spreads responsibility
Since the recovery team is still looking for a body on the Potomax River on Thursday, Trump held a press conference and tried to fix the accidents of the previous presidential government. He claimed that without evidence or evidence, the Biden administration had reduced the employment standards of air control officers as part of its “diversity, fairness, and inclusiveness.”
Trump said, especially for former Transported Secretary Pete Botti Gig, said he had driven an agency “directly on the ground with his diversity.”
Buttigieg has responded in a post on Social Media Platform X.
Batti Gieg wrote “Sneaky”. “As the family gets sad, Trump should not lie, it should be at the forefront. We will keep it safe, make a close call, expand air traffic control, and from millions of flights. The commercial airline has made zero collision deaths.
“President Trump is currently supervising the army and the FAA,” he added. “One of his first actions was to dismiss and pause a part of the main staff who helped to keep our sky safely. The president showed the actual leadership, which again. It's time to explain what he does to prevent it. “
Kim Lewis has contributed to the report.