Authorities have actually recuperated 41 bodies after an aircraft crash in Washington DC.

Sixty-seven people were killed when an American Airlines jet and a military helicopter clashed mid-air on Wednesday night. Up until now, 28 bodies have been identified.

Both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River after the crash. Some 300 personnel were sent out to the scene, but the rescue soon became a recovery objective as officials stated there were no survivors.

Washington crash: Follow the most recent updates

Federal detectives have recovered the black boxes from the guest jet, while authorities were still searching for similar devices in the helicopter.

Meanwhile, over how well the airport’s control tower was staffed on the night of the crash, it’s been verified that an air traffic control service supervisor had actually let a controller leave their shift early.

The detail, initially reported by the New York Times, has been confirmed to Sky News’ US partner NBC News by a source familiar with the examination.

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It means a single controller was dealing with both airplane and helicopter traffic in the location when the two aircraft clashed.

It is allowed - however not optimum - for one controller to do both jobs, NBC News reported.

The American Airlines jet was bring 60 travelers and four crew when it crashed with the Black Hawk helicopter, bring 3 soldiers, employment quickly before 9pm regional time on Wednesday.

Flight 5342 was preparing to arrive at runway 33 at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when it collided with the helicopter in among the most securely controlled airspaces on the planet.

‘Em ergency lorries sped past me’

A man whose spouse was on the flight has recalled how he saw emergency situation services “speeding past” as he was waiting at the airport to pick her up.

Hamaad Raza informed NBC News his partner of two years, Asra, had actually “texted me [and] stated, ‘We’re landing in 20 minutes’“.

” I was waiting and I started seeing a bunch of EMS vehicles speeding past me … way too numerous, [more] than normal and my texts weren’t going through.”

Trump makes unproven diversity drive claim

Donald Trump has connected a variety drive at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under previous federal governments to the crash.

It has actually because been said there is no evidence to support the US president’s claim.

Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Mr Trump recommended the variety efforts had made flight less safe.

At a White House press briefing on Friday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Mr Trump had signed a memorandum directing an immediate assessment of FAA employing decisions made during the previous administration.

While Mr Trump’s claim appears to have been exposed, there are questions over staffing at Reagan Washington National Airport.

NBC News reported staffing in the air traffic control tower was “not regular”, according to a preliminary FAA report.

The tower generally has a controller who focuses specifically on helicopter traffic - however at the time of the crash, a source stated, one controller was overseeing both plane and helicopter activity.

The FAA, which manages air traffic control in addition to certification of personnel and airplane, lacks an irreversible administrator. Its former employer Michael Whitaker stepped down on 20 January - the day of Mr Trump’s inauguration.

Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app Mr Trump has actually selected an acting administrator, Chris Rocheleau, in the wake of the crash.

Mr Whitaker had clashed with Mr Trump’s confidante Elon Musk over the SpaceX rocket launches during his tenure at the FAA.

Since beginning as head of the administration in October 2023, he was also required to react to Boeing’s security and quality problems, and worked to hire more air traffic controllers due to a shortage of personnel.

Learn more:. Washington DC plane crash: What we understand up until now. Air traffic control heard diverting planes minutes after crash

At his briefing, Mr Trump blamed previous president Joe Biden for decreasing standards for air traffic controllers.

” We have to have our most intelligent people,” he said. “They need to be naturally gifted geniuses.”

Mr Trump included: “The FAA is actively recruiting employees who suffer extreme intellectual impairments, psychiatric problems, and other psychological and physical conditions under a diversity and addition hiring initiative spelled out on the agency’s website.”

The American Association of People with Disabilities reacted to these claims, stating in a declaration on X: “FAA workers with disabilities did not cause [the] terrible aircraft crash.

” The examination into the crash is still continuous. It is exceptionally improper for the president to utilize this disaster to push an anti-diversity hiring agenda. Doing so makes all Americans less safe.”

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Mr Trump stated after being sworn in recently, he signed an executive order which “restored the greatest requirements of air traffic controllers”.

At a later instruction, he was asked if gender or race played a function. He addressed: “It might have, I don’t know.