US President Donald Trump criticised the mid-air collision between a US Army helicopter and a passenger jet near Washington DC, stating it “should have been prevented.” Late night on Wednesday, an American Airlines’ passenger jet with 60 passengers and four crew members aboard collided with an ‘in-practice’ Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington.
The doomed airplane fell into the nearby Potomac River. Police divers and boats are searching for survivors, reportedly having recovered 18 bodies from the water so far.
In a post on ‘Truth Social’, Trump wrote, “The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane. This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!! “
Conversation Inside Control Tower Moments Before Collision
Audio from the air traffic control tower captured the tense moments leading up to the mid-air collision, the Associated Press reported.
Less than 30 seconds before impact, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter, “PAT25, do you have the CRJ in sight?” Moments later, another call was made instructing, “PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ.”
No response followed, and seconds later, the two aircraft collided.
In the aftermath, another pilot was heard asking, “Tower, did you see that?”
According to AP, the air traffic controller immediately began diverting other aircraft from Reagan National Airport.
The cause of the collision remains unclear, but all takeoffs and landings at the airport were temporarily suspended as law enforcement helicopters from across the region hovered over the scene.
