US restricts helicopter flights after Washington crash, 41 bodies recovered
Search and rescue teams work near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the Potomac River, in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., January 31, 2025. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
WASHINGTON: US authorities restricted helicopter flights near Reagan Washington National Airport on Friday (Jan 31), after a midair collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a military helicopter killed 67 people.
Officials said that 41 of the victims' bodies had been recovered by Friday, as crews worked to pull the wreckage of America's deadliest air disaster in two decades from the Potomac River.
The Federal Aviation Administration sharply restricted helicopter flights to reduce the risk of another collision, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, confirming news first reported by Reuters.
Duffy said the decision "will immediately help secure the airspace near Reagan Airport, ensuring the safety of airplane and helicopter traffic".
The FAA is barring most helicopters from parts of two routes near the airport and only allowing police and medical helicopters, air defence and presidential air transport in the area between the airport and nearby bridges.
The restrictions will last at least until the National Transportation Safety Board releases a preliminary report into the fatal collision, which typically takes 30 days. At that point they will be reviewed, Duffy said.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom praised the decision to restrict helicopter flights and said the airline would work with the government "to make our aviation system even safer, including by increasing investments in infrastructure, technology and personnel."
Officials said that 41 of the victims' bodies had been recovered by Friday, as crews worked to pull the wreckage of America's deadliest air disaster in two decades from the Potomac River.
The Federal Aviation Administration sharply restricted helicopter flights to reduce the risk of another collision, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, confirming news first reported by Reuters.
Duffy said the decision "will immediately help secure the airspace near Reagan Airport, ensuring the safety of airplane and helicopter traffic".
The FAA is barring most helicopters from parts of two routes near the airport and only allowing police and medical helicopters, air defence and presidential air transport in the area between the airport and nearby bridges.
The restrictions will last at least until the National Transportation Safety Board releases a preliminary report into the fatal collision, which typically takes 30 days. At that point they will be reviewed, Duffy said.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom praised the decision to restrict helicopter flights and said the airline would work with the government "to make our aviation system even safer, including by increasing investments in infrastructure, technology and personnel."
Washington, DC, Fire Chief John Donnelly told reporters that 28 of the bodies recovered so far have been positively identified.
"We expect to recover all of the bodies," he said. "That's why our teams are still working."
Donnelly said moving the plane's submerged fuselage should improve access to more bodies.
Terry Liercke, vice president of Reagan National, said two of the airport's three runways were expected to remain closed for a week. The main runway at Reagan handles about 90% of flights and is the busiest single runway in the United States.
The crash has cast a harsh spotlight on questions about air safety and a shortage of tower controllers at the heavily congested airport that serves the US capital.
"We expect to recover all of the bodies," he said. "That's why our teams are still working."
Donnelly said moving the plane's submerged fuselage should improve access to more bodies.
Terry Liercke, vice president of Reagan National, said two of the airport's three runways were expected to remain closed for a week. The main runway at Reagan handles about 90% of flights and is the busiest single runway in the United States.
The crash has cast a harsh spotlight on questions about air safety and a shortage of tower controllers at the heavily congested airport that serves the US capital.
Airspace is crowded around the Washington area, home to three commercial airports, multiple military bases and some senior government officials who are ferried around by helicopter. Over three years ending in 2019, there were 88,000 helicopter flights within 48km of Reagan National Airport, including about 33,000 military and 18,000 law enforcement flights, the Government Accountability Office said in a 2021 report.
The American Airlines plane was trying to land when it collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River on Wednesday evening. Two of the three service members killed were identified Friday.
Fresh from recovering the plane's so-called black boxes, divers aim to salvage both aircraft and find additional components on Friday, Washington's fire department said.
The American Airlines plane was trying to land when it collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River on Wednesday evening. Two of the three service members killed were identified Friday.
Fresh from recovering the plane's so-called black boxes, divers aim to salvage both aircraft and find additional components on Friday, Washington's fire department said.
Authorities have not pinpointed a reason for the collision.
The NTSB said it aims to recover the helicopter's black box, which captures flight data and voices in the cockpit, on Friday.
The FAA is about 3,000 controllers behind staffing targets. The agency said in 2023 that it had 10,700 certified controllers, about the same as a year earlier.
One controller rather than two was handling local plane and helicopter traffic on Wednesday at the airport, a situation deemed "not normal" but considered adequate for lower volumes of traffic, according to a person briefed on the matter.
Duffy on Thursday vowed to reform the FAA.
The NTSB said it aims to recover the helicopter's black box, which captures flight data and voices in the cockpit, on Friday.
The FAA is about 3,000 controllers behind staffing targets. The agency said in 2023 that it had 10,700 certified controllers, about the same as a year earlier.
One controller rather than two was handling local plane and helicopter traffic on Wednesday at the airport, a situation deemed "not normal" but considered adequate for lower volumes of traffic, according to a person briefed on the matter.
Duffy on Thursday vowed to reform the FAA.
Source: Reuters/fs
