On Jan. 29, Army helicopter and American Airlines Flight 5342 faced a devastating mid air collision resulting in no survivors.
All 64 passengers died in the crash, 28 of which were connected to US figure skating, including 11 young athletes, four coaches and 13 family members.
Flight 5342 was supposed to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport’s runway 1.
Traffic control decided to redirect the plane to runway 33 soon before scheduled landing time. Five minutes after this order, Black Hawk helicopter(PAT 2-5) confirmed they could see Flight 5342 in the air over the radio. Air traffic control ordered PAT 2-5 to pass behind Flight 5342, instead of that, seconds later, at 8:47 p.m, they tragically collided bursting into flames and plunging into the Potomac River in “the first major fatal commercial plane crash in the United States in 16 years.”
First responders arrived at the scene shortly after for assistance. The next morning, by 7:30 a.m. officials declared all 64 passengers and three service members dead.
This devastating accident has sent grief and sorrow all over the country for family, friends, classmates, and even strangers.
Soon after this, President Donald Trump began his White House briefing that Thursday morning, starting off with a prayer for the victims of the crash and morning with the families over the devastating loss. Unfortunately, soon after his remarks switched over (without any evidence, according to main news sources) to blaming diversity hiring, equity and inclusion programs (DEI) for the crash even though the investigation has just begun.
Reed Kimbrough, a former Army helicopter pilot, who is also a DEI consultant, told NBC News he was taken aback and frustrated by Trump’s comments and concerns.
“To say those things that had no bearing on any facts and a lack of credible information is just, it’s just jarring,” Kimbrough said. “While families are grieving, to turn this into an attack on DEI is disturbing. The lack of empathy, and the lack of decorum using profanity at a press conference and to politicize a tragedy is really unconscionable.”
When questioned about his claims on if he thought diversity hiring was the reason or had something to do with the crash, this is what Trump had to say:
“It just could have been. We have a high standard. We’ve had a much higher standard than anybody else. And there are things where you have to go by brainpower,” Trump said. “You have to go by psychological quality, and psychological quality is a very important element of it. These are various, very powerful tests that we put to use. And they were terminated by Biden. And Biden went by a standard that seeks the exact opposite. So we don’t know. But we do know that you had two planes at the same level. You had a helicopter and a plane. That shouldn’t have happened. And, we’ll see. We’re going to look into that, and we’re going to see. But certainly for an air traffic controller, we want the brightest, the smartest, the sharpest. We want somebody that’s psychologically superior. And that’s what we’re going to have.”
People worldwide are upset about his remarks and question the need of bringing politics into this tragedy, as well as expressing their empathy for how their families must be dealing with this news.
Moving on from the political aspects, the Northern Virginia skating community is devastated and continues to love, remember, and share all of the amazing times they had with their beloved skaters. Many friends, family, and coaches have sent out candles, flowers, candies, and much more creating a memorial for their loved ones.
With countless people flooding in with questions, government officials have vowed to “get to the bottom” of what really went wrong. With black boxes in hand, investigators are now focusing on the actions of the plane and the Army helicopter before they collided.
Officials have recently confirmed that the helicopter was flying far too high during a routine night mission (Helicopter was 300-350 feet high) and had been warned twice about the jet in air. Yet no one knows why the helicopter was so far up nor why they never responded to the orders given on the radio.
We do not know for sure what really caused this collison, it could be a number of factors, both technological and human-driven, that could have played a role in the deadly accident.
This horrible plane crash claiming the lives of 67 innocent people is a terrible loss. So many had so much incredible talent and potential. Memorials were held throughout the country as well as the skating community coming together in a powerful display of solidarity, honoring the memory of those lost.
Their legacy will live on inspiring and paving the way for future generations with spirit and dedication. Everyone aboard will be missed. more information comes out about this event every day, hoping for the families who lost the ones closest to them to get a clear answer soon.
