The recent history of plane crashes in the US

In the skies above Washington D.C., rescue personnel are working diligently to search for survivors after a passenger plane collided mid-air with a helicopter. Commercial airplane crashes are extremely rare, especially in the United States.

The last major fatal plane crash in the United States occurred in 2009, when all 49 people on board a flight died after the plane crashed into a house in Buffalo, New York. Additionally, one person inside the house also perished in the incident. The crash was attributed to the pilot mishandling warnings of an impending stall during landing.

In 2006, a plane crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49 people after the pilots used the wrong runway for takeoff. The runway was too short, causing the plane to run off the end and crash. In November 2001, American Airlines Flight 587 crashed in Queens, New York, resulting in 265 fatalities. The flight crashed shortly after takeoff and was initially suspected to be a terrorist attack due to its timing near the 9/11 attacks, but investigators ultimately determined the cause to be the co-pilot overreacting to turbulence and repeatedly moving the rudder.

In January 2000, an Alaska Airlines flight went out of control and crashed into the ocean, killing 88 people. This incident was blamed on a technical malfunction caused by a worn jackscrew. Today's event is reminiscent of the January 13, 1982, crash of a Florida Airlines flight into the Potomac River, which killed 78 people and was attributed to severe weather.

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