Five key questions that need answering over Washington plane crash
A mystery surrounds the cause of the American Airlines and US military helicopter crash feared to have killed dozens.
Search and rescue teams continue to comb the freezing waters of the Potomac River near Washington DC after the American Airlines and US Army H60 helicopter crashed mid-air.
While hope for survivors is fading hour by hour in almost sub-zero temperatures, questions over the cause of the crash have been raised.
Metro spoke with an aviation expert to answer some of them.
Follow the latest updates on the Washington plane crash on Metro’s live blog
How can a military helicopter collide with a passenger plane?
Recordings from the air traffic control tower revealed the final moments before the crash as controllers tried to make contact with the helicopter just seconds before the crash outside Reagan National Airport – one of the busiest in the US.
The American Airlines flight AA5342, a Mitsubishi CRJJ-701ER model, is thought to have been preparing for a routine landing at about 300 feet when the helicopter failed to respond to air traffic warnings for some reason.
The US Army H60 Black Hawk helicopter is thought to be based at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, but it is not clear whether the helicopter had taken off from there before the crash.
Bernard Lavelle, an aviation consultant with BL Aviation Consulting, cautioned against speculation which has ensued, including by US President Donald Trump on Truth Social appearing to blame the control tower.
Mr Lavelle told Metro: ‘The big thing is to try not to speculate as everyone will try.
‘The National Transportation Safety Board in the US have already sent a go team to start a preliminary investigation even while the search and rescue is ongoing.’
He said that Trump has ‘not really helped saying this should not have happened.’
‘Yes, it should not have happened. He may be right, but we don’t know yet.’
Why didn’t the helicopter respond to air traffic control warnings?
One theory experts have suggested is that military and civilian aircraft use different communication which could have blocked the helicopter from hearing warnings.
While the exact cause of the crash has not been confirmed yet, data from aviation tracker Flightradar24 shows that the US military H60 helicopter was not broadcasting its ADS-B data, which automatically transmits the aircraft’s position, altitude and other information.
The air traffic controllers can be heard asking the helicopter crew if they have seen CRJ, the American Airlines passenger plane.
The controller then requests the PAT25, the helicopter, to ‘pass behind the CRJ.’ But within seconds, the two aircraft collided, sparking gasps of horror in the control tower.
Should air traffic controllers have realised earlier?
There has been no suggestion that the Air Traffic Control tower did not act in time.
The controllers can be heard trying to make contact with the helicopter for almost a minute and a half in the recording captured by LiveATC.
When will we know what caused the crash?
The aircraft’s ‘black boxes’ can reveal what happened in the final minutes and seconds inside the cockpits.
Now the black box has been recovered for the American Airlines plane after the plane wreckage was found in the river.
The military helicopter is thought to have a similar recorder inside.
The flight data recorder and the audio from the aircraft will be looked at by the investigator, which will show the ‘communications between the airctaft and will look at the movements and can play back what they were doing at the time,’ he explained.
A full investigation is likely to take around 12 months while the preliminary findings could come out in the next three months, he said.
Who is responsible for the crash?
‘One of those aircraft is at fault, whether it’s the plane or the helicopter, otherwise there would not have been an incident,’ Mr Lavelle continued.
He said information from sources has not suggested ‘anything otherwise than an unfortunate accident rather than any other reason behind it’ despite conspiracy theories and the close proximity of the White House.
‘The data and audio recorder will provide further information,’ he added.
Speaking on US aviation industry generally, the expert said his ‘big concern’ is the shortage of Air Traffic Control staff and the shortage of pilots.
Both professions take a long time to recruit and train.
He said many pilots have been trained ‘fast,’ but ‘stringent rules’ dictate who and when pilots can fly commercial aircraft.
‘We don’t know who was flying this aircraft – were they two senior pilots and it would be wrong to speculate,’ he added.
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