Summary
An American Airlines jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided midair near Reagan National Airport, killing at least 18 people.
Trump initially expressed condolences but later questioned why the air traffic control tower or helicopter pilot didn’t prevent the crash.
The FAA identified the plane as a PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700.
A Kennedy Center webcam captured the collision, and investigations are ongoing.
CNN’s Pete Muntean called the incident stunning, noting its proximity to a military base.
This was pilot deviation or pilot error for the helicopter. They were instructed to maintain visual separation and to cross behind the CRJ and then just didn’t.
Edit: The issue was also that they reported CRJ in sight. If they couldn’t find the CRJ, ATC should have routed them on a safe path. But they reported in sight.
Do you have any links to sources on this? I see a lot of people speaking authoritatively on this here but no links to sources.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3gD_lnBNu0
Check out VAS aviation on YouTube
I don’t have a link, but the conversation with ATC is online.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q21VlHlkMg