Black boxes found as officials examine staffing shortage in DC plane crash

In the plane crash in Washington, D.C., the black box of the ill-fated commercial flight has been found. At the same time, questions have been raised about staffing at the airport, where the plane was originally scheduled to land, as well as other potential hazards. Typically, air traffic control in the area is handled by two people, but according to sources cited by CBS News, only one person was on duty at the time of the accident. The area is one of the most heavily regulated airspaces in the world.

Officials are still investigating the cause of the accident that killed all 67 people on board the two aircraft. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said a preliminary report will be released within 30 days. The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, known as the black box, can help investigators understand what may have gone wrong during the flight. The black box will be sent to the NTSB lab for analysis.

The New York Times first reported on the air traffic control staffing situation, with initial Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reports indicating that the staffing was "not normal." The federal government has been struggling for years to fill some key vacancies at the FAA. It has been reported that it was not uncommon for an air traffic controller to manage both helicopters and airplanes simultaneously at Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday evening, and this did not violate any regulations.

On Thursday, divers searched the icy waters of the Potomac River for the remains of the victims, but the search was suspended on Thursday evening due to dangerous conditions. The American Airlines flight had 64 passengers and collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter that was on a training mission. There were three soldiers on the helicopter. So far, search and rescue teams have found 27 bodies from the plane and one from the helicopter.

During a White House briefing on Thursday, President Donald Trump first observed a moment of silence and prayer for the victims. He said, "We can only begin to imagine the pain you are feeling," adding, "Our hearts are broken along with yours." Without evidence, Trump speculated on the cause of the collision, suggesting that the FAA under previous Democratic administrations had lowered the hiring standards for air traffic controllers, which may have been a contributing factor to the accident.

Later on Thursday, Trump signed a memo ending diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) measures in aviation. DEI programs are designed to promote the participation of people from diverse backgrounds in the workplace. Supporters argue that these programs aim to address historical or ongoing discrimination and underrepresentation, while critics argue that these programs can be discriminatory in themselves. Trump also signed an executive order appointing a new head of the FAA.

The fatal accident occurred at approximately 9 p.m. local time on Wednesday (2 a.m. GMT on Thursday) when an American Airlines flight 5342, operated by PSA Airlines, collided in mid-air with a U.S. Army helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River. The passenger plane broke into several pieces and sank several feet underwater, while the helicopter was found upside down in the river. The Bombardier CRJ700 aircraft took off from Wichita, Kansas, carrying dozens of passengers, including a young pair of figure skaters, their mothers, and two Russian coaches.

Russian media quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying, "There were also other of our compatriots on the plane. The news from Washington today is terrible. We regret it and express our condolences to the families and friends of the victims." The helicopter was a Sikorsky H-60, which took off from Fort Belvoir, Virginia, with three soldiers on board from Bravo Company, 12th Aviation Battalion. "This is a tragedy, a terrible loss of life, for the 64 passengers on that civilian airliner, as well as the three soldiers on the Black Hawk helicopter," said new Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Wednesday.