Video of American Airlines crash shows lights visible from miles away
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 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.
Similar Readings (5 items)
Black boxes recovered in deadly midair collision
Passenger jet with 64 aboard collides with Army helicopter while landing at Reagan Airport near DC
White House official: over 30 bodies recovered after plane-helicopter collision
'Shock and disbelief': World War II bomber, smaller plane collide and crash at Dallas air show
Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashes in Kazakhstan with nearly 70 people onboard
Summary
American Airlines crash: Two aircraft collide over DC, killing 67. Lights from both planes and helicopter visible for over a mile before collision. Investigators recover black boxes, bodies pulled from Potomac River as recovery operations continue. Collision occurred during final approach to