The collision of a US Military helicopter and a civilian airliner that killed 67 individuals might have been prevented, President Donald Trump has mentioned, questioning air visitors controllers’ actions.
The H-60 BlackHawk helicopter collided with Flight 5342 that was on its ultimate method to Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport on Wednesday night. Rescue groups haven’t recovered any survivors from the freezing Potomac River.
“It’s a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the aircraft have been blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or flip,” Trump posted on his TruthSocial platform early on Thursday.
The president additionally questioned why the management tower had didn’t instruct the helicopter crew what to do.
“This can be a unhealthy state of affairs that appears prefer it ought to have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!” Trump added.
At 9pm native time, when the crash occurred, the airport reported clear skies, with 16km visibility and winds from the northwest. The air temperature was 10C, however elements of the Potomac River have been nonetheless frozen from an earlier chilly snap.
The passenger jet was a Bombardier CRJ700 operated by PSA, a subsidiary of American Airways. The flight from Wichita, Kansas was on touchdown method to Runway 33, with 60 passengers and 4 crew members on board, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has mentioned.
Among the many passengers have been a number of athletes, coaches and relations coming back from the US Determine Skating Championships in Wichita.
Almost 300 first responders have been deployed to sift the wreckage for survivors, however discovered none as of Thursday morning. Operations have been quickly shifted from rescue to restoration.
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