Reagan International Airport was the unfortunate site of a recovery effort after American Airlines Flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter last week.
According to the FAA, an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with a 60-passenger flight. All 67 people between the two aircraft did not survive.
Millions are still trying to understand why a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter would be flying so low near a major airport.
It turns out that the helicopter wasn’t low enough.
The U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter was reportedly cleared to travel at 200 to 250 feet during the time of the collision with American Airlines Flight 5342.
The helicopter was believed to have been traveling at 300 to 350 feet, which turned out to be a grave mistake that caused one of the worst airline collisions and loss of life in the past 20 years.
CNN has reported that new ground-based radar has proven this to be true.
“Newly released data from ground-based radar came out Tuesday suggesting an Army helicopter was flying higher than it was supposed to be when it collided with American Airlines Flight 5342 a week ago, killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft.
According to the “best quality flight track data” available, the helicopter was flying at about 300 feet at the time of the midair collision with the plane on its approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport outside Washington, DC, according to a statement Tuesday evening from the National Transportation Safety Board. “This data is rounded to the nearest 100 feet,” the agency said.”
Unfortunately, there wasn’t a single survivor as all bodies have since been recovered from the river and friends and family can start the healing process.
Elite Team USA Figure Skaters Were Onboard American Airlines Flight
Among the 64 people on the doomed American Eagle flight that collided midair with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter were Team USA figure skaters and coaches.
Twenty-eight figure skaters, coaches, and family members died on that flight to Washington, D.C., following a collision with a U.S. Army helicopter over the Potomac River.
U.S. Figure Skating revealed that the athletes were returning from a training camp in Wichita, Kansas.
