US authorities restricted helicopter flights near Reagan Washington National Airport yesterday, after a midair collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a military helicopter killed 67 people this week.
Investigators were able to recover the helicopter’s black box, which captures flight data and voices in the cockpit, National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman said.
The information from the box, along with the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the CRJ700 airplane, could help authorities piece together what happened just before the two aircraft collided on Wednesday night and plunged into Washington’s freezing Potomac River in the deadliest US air disaster in two decades.
The board has also conducted interviews with air traffic controllers, Inman said, including the lone controller working inside Reagan’s tower at the time of the crash.
Authorities have not identified a cause, and Inman said the board would not engage in speculation before completing its investigation.
“The NTSB is an independent, bipartisan board – 58 years as the gold standard. Our job is to find the facts, but more importantly, our job is to make sure this tragedy doesn’t happen again, regardless of what anyone may be saying,” Inman said, adding that he had not spoken to President Donald Trump or anyone at the White House.
Following the Washington crash, the FAA sharply restricted helicopter flights near Reagan to reduce the risk of another collision, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said earlier, confirming news first reported by Reuters.
Duffy said the decision “will immediately help secure the airspace near Reagan Airport, ensuring the safety of airplane and helicopter traffic.”
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