New information has emerged about the deadly crash over the Potomac River.
A few days after American Airlines Flight 5342 and a U.S. Army helicopter crashed into each other in the air over Washington, D.C., officials said that air traffic control had warned the military aircraft about the approaching plane.
Bryce Banning, an investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board, stated in a press conference on February 1 that the control tower asked the regional jet to change runways at 8:43 p.m. local time. He said, “After a quick talk among the crew, they decided to use Runway 33.”
At 8:46 p.m., the tower told the Black Hawk helicopter that there was an airplane close, just south of the Wilson Bridge, flying at 1,200 feet and circling to land on Runway 33. At 8:47 p.m., Banning reported that the chopper received a radio message asking if the plane, with 60 passengers and four crew members, was visible.
After three seconds, the helicopter was told to “pass behind” the plane, Banning said. Sixteen seconds later, the plane’s crew reacted verbally, and the Flight Data Recorder indicated that the plane started to tilt its nose up before air traffic control heard sounds of impact. All 67 people died.
NTSB board member Todd Inman provided information about the safety procedures for the Black Hawk.
“During the press conference, he said, ‘We can confirm it was a training flight that used night vision goggles.'” “We currently don’t know if the night vision goggles were being used or what the situation was.”
He stressed that more research should help us find out if that happened and what role it might have in the accident.
As more information is revealed about the deadly crash, family and friends are grieving the people on the plane. Andrew Beyer, who lost his wife Justyna and their 12-year-old daughter Brielle, shared his thoughts about their deaths. The girl overcame cancer when she was only 4 months old.
“She was a fighter in everything she did,” he told ABC News on January 31. “She just lived life to the fullest with everything.”
He couldn’t help but praise Brielle’s hard work in figure skating. There are 14 people on board, including figure skaters, their teachers, and parents.
“She was so proud of herself in figure skating for the progress she had made,” he added to the outlet. Joining that team was one of her main goals in life. And she did it. She was very proud of herself.
Read on for more information about the unfortunate crash.
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