New footage of the American Airlines crash shows that lights on both the doomed passenger plane and Army Black Hawk helicopter could be seen from more than a mile away before the two aircraft collided, killing 67 people.
The footage shows the moment the plane, flying near the US Capitol building, was approaching to land at DC‘s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday.
Lights from both aircraft are seen flashing as they continue to fly towards each other, before crashing in mid-air. A fireball then erupted in the night sky and both the plane and helicopter tumbled into the icy Potomac River.
Authorities have not yet pinpointed a reason for the collision, but have said it could have been ‘prevented’, as many question how the two aircraft did not see each other on the clear night.
Insiders and a preliminary internal Federal Aviation Authority report have started to reveal catastrophic failures leading up to the aviation disaster.
Investigators on Thursday recovered the black boxes from the CRJ700 airplane, which carried 60 passengers and four crew members, as rescuers pulled bodies from the freezing water.
Divers aim to ‘salvage the aircraft’ and find additional components today.
Newly released footage shows the moment an American Airlines plane, flying near the US Capitol building, was approaching to land at DC’s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday
Lights from both the American Airlines passenger plane (left) and the Army Black Hawk helicopter (right) are seen flashing as they continue to fly towards each other
A fireball then erupted in the night sky as the aircraft collided, before both the plane and helicopter tumbled into the icy Potomac River
There were no survivors after the two aircraft plummeted into the Potomac River in the country’s deadliest aviation disaster since 2001.
Over 40 bodies had been pulled from the icy waters of the river as of Thursday evening as recovery operations continue.
Investigators plan to push forward today with efforts to retrieve both the passenger plane and helicopter from the river.
The collision took place as the American Airlines flight made its final approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport shortly before 9pm ET.
That night, an air traffic controller was left to handle both helicopter traffic and manage planes – which should have been a divided duty – according to The New York Times.
Those tasks are usually handled between two people from 10am until 9.30pm, according to the report.
After 9.30pm the duties are typically combined and left to one person as the airport sees less traffic later in the night.
A supervisor reportedly decided to combine those duties before the scheduled cutoff time however, and allowed one air traffic controller to leave work early.
The FAA report said that staffing configuration ‘was not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic’.
It remains unclear why the supervisor allowed the worker to clock off early on Wednesday night, just before the midair collision.
Pictured: Parts of the wreckage seen sitting in the Potomac River after Flight 5342 collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night, killing 67 people
Surveillance footage taken from inside the airport also captured the moment the two collided in midair
It has also emerged that the Army helicopter, which was carrying three soldiers, involved in the collision might have also deviated from its approved flight path.
The outlet again spoke with insiders that said the Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter was not on its approved route and flying higher than it should have been.
Approval had been given for the helicopter to fly no higher than 200 feet along the east side of the Potomac River, where it would have avoided the passenger jet.
The pilot of the helicopter confirmed sight of the American Airlines flight and was told to stick to their predetermined route and go behind the plane.
Sources said the pilot did not stick to the path however and was a half-mile off course as well as being at an altitude above 300 feet.
A senior Army official told The Times that the pilot of the Black Hawk had flown the route before and was well aware of the tight altitude restrictions and routes.
As the jet approached the runway, those onboard had asked air traffic control to change their runway, according to an FAA report.
The plane, a Bombardier CRJ700, had been cleared to touch down on Runway 1, the main airport thoroughfare, but the controller then asked the pilot to land on Runway 33.
A source told The Times that such a move is routine especially with regional jets, and that the decision might have been made to prevent clogging on the main runway.
Five current and former controllers also told the outlet that the lone controller in the tower should have been more proactive in directing the two away from each other.
The two aircraft had collided in a huge fireball that was visible on dashcams of cars driving on highways near the airport before it plunged into the river
NTSB investigators are seen here working on the black box of American Airlines flight 5342
The darkness could have played a part in what made it so difficult for both pilots to actually gauge their distance apart, they added.
Reagan National has been understaffed for many years, with just 19 fully certified controllers as of September 2023 – well below the target of 30 – according to the most recent Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan submitted to Congress.
The situation appeared to have improved since then, as a source told CNN the Reagan National control tower was 85 percent staffed with 24 of 28 positions filled.
Chronic understaffing at air traffic control towers is nothing new, with well-known causes including high turnover and budget cuts.
In order to fill the gaps, controllers are frequently asked to work 10-hour days, six days a week.
The two aircraft had collided in a huge fireball that was visible on dashcams of cars driving on highways that snake around the airport, before plunging into the river.
On Thursday morning officials confirmed all 67 on both the plane and helicopter had perished, with their rescue mission then becoming a recovery operation.
Investigators made a break through later that night, after they had pulled 40 bodies to shore, when they found two black boxes from the American Airlines flight.
A flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were pulled from the river by salvage teams. This will be of monumental assistance to authorities as they investigate what exactly happened in the moments leading to disaster.
The identities of those who died in the collision have started to trickle out, with DailyMail.com revealing the identities of the pilot and first officer.
Among the crash victims were people from Russia, China, Germany and the Philippines, including young figure skaters.
Captain Jonathan Campos, 34, and First Officer Samuel Lilley had been in charge of the flight from Wichita, Kansas, to the capital.
Both flight attendants who were on that tragic flight have been revealed as Ian Epstein and Danasia Elder.
At least three minors – including figure skaters Spencer Lane, 16, and Jinna Han – are among the victims who died.
Famed Russian skating couple Evgenia Shishkova, 53, and Vadim Naumov, 56, alongside Lane and Han’s mothers also tragically lost their lives in the crash.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves was aboard the Black Hawk helicopter alongside fellow soldier Ryan O’Hara.
The helicopter’s path remained relatively straight while the American Airlines flight veered, and the two collided
Rescue teams search the wreckage of a commercial airplane that collided with a military helicopter in Washington
The National Transportation Safety Board is studying the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the CRJ700 airplane.
Radio communications showed that air traffic controllers alerted the helicopter about the approaching jet and ordered it to change course.
One controller rather than two was handling local plane and helicopter traffic on Wednesday night at the airport, a situation deemed ‘not normal’ but considered adequate for lower volumes of traffic, according to a person briefed on the matter.
The military said the maximum altitude for the route the helicopter was taking is 200 feet but it may have been flying higher. The collision occurred at an altitude of around 300 feet, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said the pilot of the American Eagle Flight 5342 had about six years of flying experience. The Bombardier jet was operated by PSA Airlines, a regional subsidiary.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the helicopter was flown by a ‘fairly experienced crew’ of three soldiers who were wearing night-vision goggles on an annual training flight.
Officials said they were grounding other flights from the Army unit involved in the crash and would reevaluate training exercises in the region.
President Donald Trump suggested without evidence that diversity efforts championed by Democrats could have played a role.
Trump, a Republican, has sought to do away with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs since coming into office on Jan. 20. His comments drew criticism from Democrats.
Chief Warrant Officer 2, Andrew Eaves, left, and Ryan O’Hara, right, were both on board the helicopter when it collided with the jet
Captain Jonathan Campos, 34, (left) and First Officer Samuel Lilley (right) had been in charge of the flight from Wichita, Kansas, to the capital
A devastated husband and father has revealed his wife Justyna and 12-year-old daughter Brielle were on board the tragic flight
Kiah Duggins (left) had been visiting her mom in her hometown of Wichita but was returning to Washington DC, where she worked for Civil Rights Corps. Grace Maxwell, (right) a 20-year-old biomedical engineering student at Cedarville University in Ohio, was on the doomed flight returning back to school
Vanderbilt University and Penn Law graduate Sarah Lee Best (left) was tragically killed on the flight, returning home after conducting a deposition with her colleague, Elizabeth Keys (right)
Married couple Roger and Stephanie Haynos were on board the flight alongside their son, as part of a team of skaters returning home from the US Ice Skating Championships
Spencer Lane and other figure skaters had been returning home from the National Development Camp, which is held in conjunction with the national championships. His mother, Christine Lane, was confirmed dead, by The Skating Club of Boston
Jinna Han (pictured front row in red) and her mother Jin were confirmed dead
Asra Hussain messaged husband Hamaad Raza , 25, to say ‘We are landing in 20 minutes’ as American Eagle Flight 5342 approached Reagan National Airport jut before 8pm ET Wednesday night
Danasia Elder and Ian Epstein were revealed to be the flight attendants on board the commercial plane
Mark Stovall (left) was returning home from a hunting trip in Kansas. Jesse Pitcher (right) was on the same trip as Stovall. He was the owner of a plumbing business and was in the process of building a new home with his wife, Kylie, who he married just over a year ago
Inna Volyanskaya, of Virginia, was a skating coach and her death was confirmed by her ex-husband Ross Lansel
Wendy Shaffer was a mother-of-two to a Shields, three, and Bennett, one
Alexandr Kirsanov (pictured in an old photo) attended the Kansas event with his skaters, Sean Kay and Angela Yang, his wife, Natalia Gudin confirmed
Sean Kay and his skating partner Angela Yang died on the American Airlines flight with their coach Alexandr Kirsanov (pictured L-R: Angela, Alexandr, Sean)
Everly and Alydia Livingston, sisters aged 14 and 11, were members of the Washington Figure Skating Club and frequently shared images of their routines on their social media page
Reagan National is a major airport located a short distance from downtown Washington, the White House and the Pentagon. The airspace is extremely busy, with civilian and military aircraft a constant presence.
Just 24 hours before the collision, another plane coming in to land at Reagan National had to make a second approach after a helicopter appeared near its flight path, The Washington Post and CNN reported, citing an audio recording from air traffic control.
Trump, who took office 10 days ago during a press conference Thursday, accused his Democratic predecessors Joe Biden and Barack Obama of having kept good employees out of the aviation agency in pursuit of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
He claimed: ‘They actually came out with a directive: ‘too white.’ And we want the people that are competent.’
Trump aimed criticism directly at Biden’s openly gay transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg.
‘He’s run it right into the ground with his diversity,’ Trump said.
The message was hammered home as Vice President JD Vance and new defense secretary Pete Hegseth took turns at the podium to repeat – without evidence – the hard-right theory that diversity measures keep capable Americans out of responsible jobs.
Emergency response teams are seen at the scene of the crash in the Potomac River
Asked again by reporters whether he was blaming workplace diversity for the crash, Trump answered: ‘It could have been.’
Buttigieg responded on X, calling Trump ‘despicable.’
‘As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying,’ he said.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy posted that Trump’s comments ‘blaming the FAA’s hiring of women and black people for the crash – was disgusting.’
‘He’s in charge. This happened on his watch,’ Murphy said.
Trump later issued an official memo directing the government to investigate ‘deterioration in hiring standards’ under Biden and ‘replacement’ of anyone unqualified.
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