FAA, ATC, RFK, or DEI, who is to blame?
One of the most recent plane crashes has been deemed the deadliest US disaster since 2001 according to AP News. American Airlines flight 5342 and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter collided near the plane’s landing destination near Washington D.C.’s Reagan National on Jan. 29 reported AP News. This plane took off from Wichita in Kansas after the athletes completed a training camp at Wichita’s skating rink. Both of the aircraft ended in the Potomac River, killing all 67 passengers and cabin crew on board reported AP News. This number also includes three soldiers on the helicopter. This was near the White House and US Capitol, approximately three miles away. Bodies and remains of the plane are being recovered from the river and all 67 bodies have been recovered and positively identified as the victims as of Feb. 5 according to ABC News. No survivors are expected due to the severity of the crash itself and the fact that the river was too cold to survive. The crash is under serious investigation as to why the helicopter did not move and why it was on the level of the plane in the first place. On Feb 6. All parts of the American Airlines jet and Black Hawk helicopter have now been removed from the Potomac River, revealed the US Army Corps of engineers, reported ABC News.
President Donald Trump criticised the merits of the Federal Aviation Authority’s air traffic controllers when he was questioned about the qualifications of the team working under Elon Musk within the department of government efficiency, reports ABC News. Trump said, “They’re smart people, unlike what they do in the control towers, where we need smart people. We should use some of them in the control towers, where we were putting people that were actually intellectually deficient” reports ABC News. Trump’s comments come after attempts to lay blame for the collision, without evidence on the FAA’s diversity equity and inclusion hiring initiatives reports ABC news. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association released a statement reaffirming its support of the air traffic controllers in the United States, “As we have stated before, all air traffic controllers – regardless of race or gender – are well trained and highly skilled dedicated professionals who keep the national airspace system safe and maintain its efficiency on behalf of all Americans” reports ABC News.
It has been revealed that the army Black Hawk helicopter was flying with the safety system turned off, Senator Ted Cruz told CBS News reporters. This was following a closed door briefing by the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportion Safety Board reports CBS News. Cruz chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, having oversight of the airline industry and confirmed that senators were told the helicopter had its automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) system turned off, however military aircraft are allowed to fly with that system off continues CBS News. ADS-B provides information on how to track aircraft locations on the Black Hawk had a transponder meaning it would have appeared on the radar and provided flight data reported CBS News. Cruz told reporters, “Unless there was a compelling national security reason for turning it off, that does not seem justified and in this instant, this was a training mission so there was no national security reason for ABS-B to be turned off” reported CBS News. Senator Tammy Duckworth, a former army helicopter pilot, questioned the safety system but made it clear that the equipment was installed in the aircraft, reported CBS News. However, National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy said that the agency’s investigators still did not confirm whether the helicopter even had the technology reported CBS News. It has been revealed that even without the ADS-B data, there was a track on the helicopter showing its altitude and the controller knew this reported CBS News as the controller was in touch with the Black Hawk, this indicates that it could see the plane and would keep separation reported CBS News.
Many of the champion figure skaters are coming together for a tribute for those who lost their lives in this crash called “Legacy On Ice” reported ABC News. This event will be held on March 2 at 3 p.m. at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. The show will hopefully raise funds to support the victims’ families, first aid responders and aviation professionals with Olympians Tara Lipinski, Kristi Yamaguchi, Scott Hamilton and Johnny Weir all participating, told US Figure Skating. US Figure Skating Interim CEO Samuel Auxier said, “As we begin to heal from this devastating loss, we look forward to honouring the enduring memories of these athletes, coaches and family members who represented the best of the figure skating community,” reported ABC News. Some of the victims include Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, a Russian married couple who were figure skating coaches and were world champions in the pairs competition in 1994 commented on by the Skating Club of Boston. Another victim was 12-year-old Brielle Beyer and her mother Justyna, with Brielle being a member of the skating club of Northern Virginia beating cancer when she was only four months old, reported ABC News.
