‘Black Box’ cockpit voice and flight recordings recovered from wreckage
Two “black boxes” have been recovered from the wreckage of an American Airlines regional jet that collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over Washington, D.C., on Wednesday evening.
The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder are now undergoing lab analysis by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which has pledged to investigate thoroughly.
All 67 people on board—the 64 passengers and crew of Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, and three soldiers in the helicopter—are presumed dead.
A preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that staffing at the Ronald Reagan National Airport air traffic control tower was “not normal.” One controller was managing tasks typically assigned to two people, including communications with both landing aircraft and helicopters in the vicinity, raising concerns about operational safety.
President Donald Trump linked the crash to FAA policies under the Biden administration, although no evidence has been provided to support this claim. Recovery efforts continue as emergency teams have located 28 bodies so far, with a full investigation expected to take at least 30 days before a preliminary report is released.
This tragic incident marks the deadliest aviation accident in the U.S. since 2001.
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