Washington plane crash: Cockpit voice recorder, flight data recovered
What's the story
The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder of the aircraft involved in a mid-air collision with a US military helicopter over Washington DC have been recovered.
The crash, which took place on Wednesday night, between an American Eagle flight and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter, killed 67 people.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is now analyzing these recorders to find out what caused this tragic incident.
Investigation focus
Understaffing at control tower under scrutiny
Preliminary reports indicate that understaffing at Reagan National Airport's control tower could have played a role in the disaster.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated that only one controller was handling both arrivals and departures, along with helicopter traffic, at the time of the crash.
This was not the usual staffing for that time of day and volume of traffic, according to the New York Times.
Usually, the job was handled by two people.
Recovery operations
Crash details and ongoing recovery efforts
Emergency workers have pulled parts of both aircraft from the river, with attempts still underway to recover all bodies.
So far, 27 bodies from the plane and one from the helicopter have been recovered.
President Donald Trump called the crash "preventable" but noted that investigators have not yet established the cause.
He slammed changes made under Joe Biden's administration regarding air traffic controller hiring requirements, saying they may have contributed to the accident.
Political response
President Trump labels crash 'preventable,' criticizes Biden's policies
The NTSB, which is investigating the crash, is expected to release a preliminary report within 30 days.
Airline response
American Airlines CEO questions military helicopter's actions
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said that the jet that collided with the helicopter was on a standard flight path.
"At this time, we don't know why the military aircraft came into the path of the PSA aircraft," Isom said at a press conference on Thursday.
"But prior to the collision, the flight paths that were being flown from the military and from American, that was not unusual for what happens in the DC airspace," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.