The black boxes with flight data and conversation recordings from the cockpit of the accidental passenger plane have been found. The American Dutch Safety Safety NTBS reports this. The black boxes will be investigated by them and the Dutch Safety Board expects to come up with a report on the accident within thirty days. A black box would also have been present on board the military helicopter, but it has not yet been found.
On Wednesday a passenger plane near Washington collided with a military helicopter. Most likely, all 67 passengers were killed. So far, 28 bodies have been found.
American media
It is not yet clear how the accident could have happened, but various American media reported that the circumstances at the Ronald Reagan airport in Washington were not optimal. So reports The New York Times That the staffing at the air traffic control tower was ‘not normal’ during the accident. The newspaper saw a provisional report of the US aviation authority. It states that the traffic controller who accompanied helicopters on Wednesday evening also instructed aircraft that landed and entered. These tasks are usually performed by two different traffic controllers.
The newspaper also reports on the authority of four people who are aware of the investigations surrounding the accident, but may not make any statements about this in public, that the helicopter may flew too high and deviated from the permitted flight route.
The Washington Post writes about an incident based on a noise recording of air traffic control of the airport. A day before the accident, the pilot of an airplane had to break off his landing because of the proximity of a helicopter. In the end the plane could land safely.
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Flight disaster in Washington: How could a helicopter and a passenger device collide?
Diversity policy
On Thursday, President Donald Trump gave a press conference in response to the air disaster. In it he loved his predecessors Joe Biden and Barack Obama. According to Trump, their policy to make staff more diverse led to unsafe situations at the US Aviation Authority FAA.
“For me, safety is paramount,” said Trump. According to him, only “people at the highest level of genius” are allowed to work in air traffic control. When he was asked whether Biden and Obama’s diversity policy was the cause of the accident, the president replied that it could “just like that.”
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