Maeve Bidonde, Staff Writer
Last month a disaster struck when an American Eagle passenger plane collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter in the sky before falling into the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C. There were sixty passengers and four crew members aboard the plane and three soldiers on the helicopter. There were no survivors from the crash.
The plane consisted of twenty-eight passengers involved in figure skating competitions. Among these passengers was 12-year-old skater Brielle Beyer and her mother Magdalena Beyer. One crew member among the victims was flight attendant Danasia Brown. Brown’s cousin, Carolyn Edwards, mentioned that this flight was supposed to be her last one before a career change within United Airlines.
According to CNN, the Federal Aviation Association has reduced air traffic at the airport due to the recovery efforts and weather concerns as they investigate the crash. The cause of the collision is still under investigation as debris is being recovered and collected from the Potomac River.
CBS News reported Senator Ted Cruz revealed that the Black Hawk helicopter involved in the crash was flying with the safety system turned off. The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, also known as ADS-B, was off while the helicopter was in the air. The Army is legally allowed to have it off while in flight, the argument was made that it was during a training flight. The ADS-B gives detailed information to help track aircraft locations in flight.
According to CNN, Senator Tammy Duckworth, who used to be a Black Hawk pilot, gave a statement about the crash and the safety equipment. “It’s not clear whether the technology was turned on, but the Army confirmed it was installed in the aircraft.”
The air traffic controller working with the Black Hawk confirmed the helicopter saw the plane and was keeping its distance from the aircraft. As of right now, the investigation has led to the FAA reviewing helicopter and commercial flight traffic in airports across the country after being urged by several senators including Senator Cruz.
As for the families of the victims, they hope for answers as to how this unexpected tragedy happened. The families and many others also hope the airlines will discover the cause of it to help prevent another tragedy like this.
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