Latest newsUSA: Both flight recorders recovered after accident
SDA
31.1.2025 - 03:53
dpatopbilder - A diving team and a police boat are at work near the wreckage in the Potomac River at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Photo: Jose Luis Magana/AP/dpa
Keystone
Following the plane crash in Washington, the two flight recorders have been recovered from the plane that crashed into the Potomac River.
Keystone-SDA
31.01.2025, 03:53
SDA
They are now being analyzed by the NTSB, US media reported, citing sources. Experts hope that the flight recorder data - also known as black boxes - will provide insights into the cause of the accident. The flight data recorder records the flight data, the voice recorder the conversations in the cockpit.
On Wednesday evening, a passenger plane with 64 people on board collided with a military helicopter on its approach to land near the capital's Ronald Reagan Airport (DCA), which is located directly on the Potomac. Both crashed into the water. There were three people on board the helicopter. According to media reports, 40 bodies have now been recovered. There is no longer any hope of rescuing any survivors.
Due to the cold weather, the rescue work was suspended overnight, according to CNN. In order to recover more bodies, the fuselage of the plane must be lifted.
Meanwhile, NTSB investigators announced that the helicopter was at the wrong altitude. The upper limit on these routes is 200 feet (about 60 meters). If the helicopter had been at that altitude, it would have flown below the plane because it was at about 400 feet, NTSB investigator Greg Feith told CNN.