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DC plane crash latest: Black box from army Black Hawk helicopter recovered from wreckage as victims named
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The so-called “black box” from the Black Hawk helicopter, which collided with a passenger jet in Washington, D.C., has now been recovered, according to the National Transport Safety Board.
Both boxes from the American Airlines aircraft were previously found, and all three devices will now be taken for analysis, NTSB spokesman Todd Inman said on Friday.
Speaking about the helicopter’s black box, he said: “I can tell you from a visual inspection, we saw no exterior damage that would indicate that it was compromised at this time. So we have a high level of confidence that we will be able to have a full extraction.”
As of Friday morning, 41 bodies had been recovered, officials said, including the three service members on the Black Hawk. All 67 people involved in the crash are presumed dead.
Elsewhere, Jo Ellis, a Black Hawk pilot with the Virginia Army National Guard who is transgender, was falsely identified as the captain flying the U.S. military helicopter.
“I understand some people have associated me with the crash in D.C. and that is false. It is insulting to the families to try to tie this to some sort of political agenda,” she said in a Facebook video with the caption: “proof of life.”
Black Hawk helicopter was on a ‘continuity of government’ training flight
The Black Hawk helicopter that collided with a passenger jet in Washington on Wednesday was on a training flight along a route core to a seldom-discussed military mission to evacuate senior officials to safety in the event of an attack on the U.S., officials say.
The military mission, known as “continuity of government” and “continuity of operations,” is meant to preserve the ability of the U.S. government to operate.
Most days, crews like the one killed on Wednesday transport VIPs around Washington, which is buzzing with helicopter traffic.
But U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth disclosed the Black Hawk crew’s ties to the mission during a White House press conference on Thursday, saying they “were on a routine, annual re-training of night flights on a standard corridor for a continuity of government mission.”
Still, little of such missions is publicly discussed.
The three soldiers killed in the collision were part of the 12th Aviation Battalion at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, whose responsibilities in a national crisis include evacuating Pentagon officials. Another 64 people were killed in the passenger plane.
Holly Evans1 February 2025 14:02
Is flying really safer than driving? What the stats show after devastating Washington D.C. plane crash
Recovery efforts are ongoing for dozens of bodies in the Potomac River, where the remnants of the American Airlines flight and the US army Black Hawk helicopter lie after the January 29 disaster.
Officials in the US have sought to reassure citizens that flying is safe. Transport secretary Sean Duffy insisted that passengers should be “assured” that flying is a safe mode of transport in a press conference on Thursday morning.
Read the full article here:
Holly Evans1 February 2025 13:01
Who was flying the American Airlines plane and Black Hawk helicopter before Washington DC crash?
Holly Evans1 February 2025 12:11
Who is Jo Ellis, the transgender pilot wrongly named in DC crash?
Jo Ellis’s record of service in the Virginia National Guard appears to be nothing but honorable.
She served in Iraq as a helicopter door gunner, then in Kuwait as part of the multi-national fight against the Islamic State. And in 2023, with the support of her commanders, she began medically transitioning to female.
Read the full article here:
Holly Evans1 February 2025 12:00
Issue around shortage of tower controllers highlighted by crash
The crash has shone a spotlight on concerns about air safety and a shortage of tower controllers at the heavily congested airport that serves the U.S. capital.
The FAA is about 3,000 controllers behind staffing targets. The agency said in 2023 that it had 10,700 certified controllers, about the same as a year earlier.
One controller rather than two was handling local plane and helicopter traffic on Wednesday at the airport, a situation deemed “not normal” but considered adequate for lower volumes of traffic, according to a person briefed on the matter. Duffy on Thursday vowed to reform the FAA.
Airspace is crowded around the Washington area, home to three commercial airports, multiple military bases and some senior government officials who are ferried around by helicopter.
Over a three-year period ending in 2019, there was an average of 80 helicopter flights per day within 30 miles (48 km) of Reagan National Airport, with the majority either military or law enforcement flights, according to a 2021 Government Accountability Office report.
Holly Evans1 February 2025 11:00
Philadelphia plane crash: What we know so far after Learjet crash goes down in huge explosion near mall
The aircraft came down just after 6 p.m. local time near the Roosevelt Mall, damaging several homes and vehicles. Shocking footage showed a large mushroom-shaped fireball shooting into the sky.
City law enforcement quickly declared the crash a “major incident” and urged residents to stay away from the area.
Read the full article here:
Holly Evans1 February 2025 10:10
The National Transportation Safety Board have conducted interviews with air traffic controllers, member Todd Inman said, including the lone controller working inside Reagan’s tower at the time of the crash on Wednesday.
Authorities have not identified a cause, and Inman said the board would not engage in speculation before completing its investigation.
“The NTSB is an independent, bipartisan board – 58 years as the gold standard. Our job is to find the facts, but more importantly, our job is to make sure this tragedy doesn’t happen again, regardless of what anyone may be saying,” Inman said, adding that he had not spoken to President Donald Trump or anyone at the White House.
Holly Evans1 February 2025 10:00
Attorney killed in crash had been ‘super excited’ for her birthday drinks
Elizabeth Anne Keys, an attorney, had traveled to Wichita on a business trip and was worried she might not be able to celebrate her 33rd birthday back in Washington with her longtime partner, David Seidman.
But her work meeting wrapped up with time to spare, allowing her to catch the flight on her birthday and make plans for the couple to get drinks late that night, Seidman said.
Keys, a native of Cincinnati, and Seidman, from New York, met as law students at Washington’s Georgetown University. The capital became their city, and Keys was endlessly energetic as they explored it together.
She played the saxophone, oboe and bassoon in high school and was on the sailing team in college. She loved taking ski trips out West, hiking in Hawaii and entertaining friends around the fire pit at her home, her family said.
Seidman said he had never skied until she encouraged him to give it a shot. She wanted to try golf next, and they were planning to take lessons.”It was like that for everything,” he said. “She was nonstop all the time.”
Holly Evans1 February 2025 09:00
The moments Grace Maxwell shared with her grandfather over the years were “his greatest joy.” And a trip home to Wichita, Kansas, allowed the 20-year-old to be by his side one final time.
Maxwell, a mechanical engineering major, was returning to college just a day after her grandfather’s funeral when she and 66 others were killed in Wednesday’s collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter over Washington, D.C.
As Maxwell’s classmates filled the pews of Cedarville University’s chapel Friday, they joined others mourning the singular lives lost and grasping to make sense of the random circumstances that put friends and loved ones in harm’s way Wednesday night.
“Can you imagine losing a parent and seven days later losing a child?” Cedarville’s president, Thomas White, said to those assembled at the university in southwestern Ohio.
Maxwell was known on campus for her devotion to helping others, working this semester on making a hand-stabilizing device to help a disabled boy feed himself and chipping in at the student radio station, the school said.
“We don’t know why a young, bright, shining star was taken from us way too soon,” White said.
Holly Evans1 February 2025 08:00
Mechanical failure or human error? What might’ve caused the D.C. plane crash that killed 67 people
The fatal midair collision on Wednesday evening between an Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet moments away from landing at Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport was a shocking and extremely rare occurrence, according to experts who believe human error is the likeliest explanation behind the tragedy that claimed dozens of lives.
Justin Rohrlich has more:
Mike Bedigan1 February 2025 07:00
In the wake of the tragic DC plane crash, authorities have made a significant breakthrough in the investigation. The black box from the army Black Hawk helicopter that collided with the small plane has been recovered from the wreckage.
This crucial piece of evidence is expected to provide valuable insights into the moments leading up to the fatal crash. Investigators are hopeful that the data stored in the black box will shed light on what went wrong and help prevent similar accidents in the future.
Meanwhile, the victims of the crash have been identified. The names of those who lost their lives in this devastating incident have been released, sending shockwaves through the community.
As the investigation continues, our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the victims. We hope that the recovery of the black box will bring some much-needed answers and closure to those affected by this tragedy. Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story.
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DC plane crash, Black Hawk helicopter, army, Black box, wreckage, victims, latest news, recovery, crash investigation, military aircraft, tragic accident
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