ARFF Daily News

Friday the 31st of January, 2025

Boats return to the Potomac River for DC plane crash recovery and investigation

Lolita C. Baldor, Tara Copp, Adriana Gomez Licon And Lea Skene - Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Va. – Police boats combed the banks of the Potomac River on Friday morning, moving slowly and scanning the shoreline as part of the investigation into the midair collision that killed 67 people in the United States' deadliest aviation disaster in almost a quarter century.

More than 40 bodies have been pulled from the river as the massive recovery effort continued, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press on Friday. The officials were not authorized to discuss details of the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Crews worked under overcast skies Friday morning with rain expected throughout the day. Planes continued to take off and land at Reagan National, with airport operations gradually returning to normal after a slew of canceled and delayed flights following the crash.

Investigators have already recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder of the American Airlines plane that collided with an Army helicopter as the plane was landing Wednesday night at Ronald Reagan National Airport next to Washington, D.C. Officials are scrutinizing a range of factors in what National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Hommendy has called an “all-hands-on-deck event.”

All aboard the two aircraft were killed, with officials examining the actions of the military pilot as well as air traffic control after the helicopter apparently flew into the path of the American Airlines jet.

Air crash investigations normally take 12-18 months, and investigators told reporters Thursday they would not speculate on the cause.

Authorities were still looking for the helicopter's black box recorder, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday on Fox News Channel. Other factors in the crash, including the helicopter’s altitude and whether the crew was using its night vision goggles, are still under investigation, Hegseth said.

Although some of the airspace had already been restricted following the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration decided to indefinitely bar most helicopters from using the low-to-the-ground routes that run under or parallel to the airport’s flightpaths, an official told the AP on Friday. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.

Military aircraft frequently conduct such flights in and around the nation’s capital for familiarization with routes they would fly in case of a major catastrophe or an attack on the U.S. that would require relocation of key officials from the capital region.

“You need to train as you fight, you need to rehearse in ways that would reflect a real world scenario,” Hegseth said. He stressed that it remained the Pentagon’s duty to also mitigate risks, while conducting such training. But he underscored U.S. forces need “to ensure, if unfortunately, there were a real world event where things needed to happen we could respond to it day or night.”

The plane carried 60 passengers and four crew members, and three soldiers were aboard the helicopter.

One air traffic controller was responsible for coordinating helicopter traffic and arriving and departing planes when the collision happened, according to a report by the FAA that was obtained by the AP. Those duties are often divided between two people, but the airport typically combines the roles at 9:30 p.m., once traffic begins to slow down. On Wednesday the tower supervisor directed that they be combined earlier.

“The position configuration was not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” the report said.

A person familiar with the matter, however, said the tower staffing that night was at a normal level. The positions are regularly combined when controllers need to step away from the console for breaks, during shift changes or when air traffic is slow, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal procedures.

The FAA has long struggled with a shortage of air traffic controllers.

Officials said flight conditions were clear as the jet arrived from Wichita, Kansas, carrying, among others, a group of elite young figure skaters, their parents and coaches, and four union steamfitters from the Washington area.

A top Army aviation official said the crew of the helicopter, a Black Hawk, was “very experienced” and familiar with the congested flying that occurs daily around the city.

“Both pilots had flown this specific route before, at night. This wasn’t something new to either one of them,” said Jonathan Koziol, chief of staff for Army aviation.

The helicopter's maximum allowed altitude at the time was 200 feet (about 60 meters), Koziol said. It was not immediately clear whether it exceeded that limit, but Hegseth said altitude seemed to be a factor in the collision.

Koziol said investigators need to analyze the flight data before making conclusions about altitude.

President Donald Trump said in a Friday morning post on his Truth Social platform that the helicopter was “flying too high” at the time of the crash.

“It was far above the 200 foot limit. That’s not really too complicated to understand, is it???” Trump said. His comments came a day after he questioned the helicopter pilot's actions while also blaming diversity initiatives for undermining air safety.

Flights at Reagan National resumed around midday Thursday.

Wednesday's crash was the deadliest in the U.S. since Nov. 12, 2001, when an American Airlines flight slammed into a residential area of Belle Harbor, New York, just after takeoff from Kennedy Airport, killing all 260 people aboard and five people on the ground.

The last major fatal crash involving a U.S. commercial airline occurred in 2009 near Buffalo, New York. Everyone aboard the Bombardier DHC-8 propeller plane was killed, along with one person on the ground, bringing the total death toll to 50.

Experts often highlight that plane travel is overwhelmingly safe, however. The National Safety Council estimates that Americans have a 1-in-93 chance of dying in a motor vehicle crash, while deaths on airplanes are too rare to calculate the odds. Figures from the Department of Transportation tell a similar story.

But the airspace around Reagan National can challenge even the most experienced pilots no matter how ideal the conditions. They must navigate hundreds of other commercial planes, military aircraft and restricted areas around sensitive sites.

Just over 24 hours before the fatal collision, a different regional jet had to go around for a second chance at landing at Reagan National after it was advised about a military helicopter nearby, according to flight tracking sites and control logs. It landed safely minutes later.

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/national/2025/01/31/divers-returning-to-the-potomac-river-for-dc-plane-crash-recovery-and-investigation/

How the NTSB investigation into the DC plane crash will work

A deadly midair collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter near the nation's capital is bringing renewed focus on the federal agency charged with investigating aviation disasters.

By The Associated Press 

A collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people brought renewed focus on the federal agency charged with investigating aviation disasters.

National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Hommendy described the investigation into the crash Wednesday night as an “all-hands-on-deck event” for the agency during a news conference Thursday in which she appeared with members of the board and a senior investigator overseeing the probe.

Here are some things to know about the NTSB:

What does the agency do?

The NTSB is an independent federal agency responsible for investigating all civil aviation accidents as well as serious incidents in the U.S. involving other modes of transportation, such as railroad disasters and major accidents involving motor vehicles, marine vessels, pipelines and even commercial space operators.

“We’re here to ensure the American people that we are going to leave no stone unturned in this investigation,” Hommendy said, noting the probe is in the very early stages. “We are going to conduct a thorough investigation of this entire tragedy, looking at the facts.”

The agency has five board members who serve five-year terms and are nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

How will the investigation work?

For the investigation into Wednesday's crash, the NTSB will establish several different working groups, each responsible for investigating different areas connected to the accident, board member Todd Inman said.

Inman said those groups include operations, which will examine flight history and crewmember duties; structures, which will document airframe wreckage and the accident scene; power plants, which will focus on aircraft engines and engine accessories; systems, which will study the electrical, hydraulic and pneumatic components of the two aircraft; air traffic control, which will review flight track surveillance information, including radar, and controller-pilot communications; survival factors, which will analyze the injuries to the crew and passengers and crash and rescue efforts; and a helicopter group.

The investigation also will include a human-performance group that will be a part of the operations, air traffic control and helicopter groups and will study the crew performance and any factors that could be involved such as human error, including fatigue, medications, medical histories, training and workload, Inman said.

How long will the investigation take?

NTSB officials did not say Thursday how long the investigation would take, but accident investigations often take between one to two years to complete.

The agency typically releases a preliminary report within a few weeks of the accident that includes a synopsis of information collected at the scene.

What is the NTSB's history?

The NTSB history dates to 1926, when Congress passed a law charging the U.S. Department of Commerce with investigating aircraft accidents.

It was established as an independent agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation in 1967 and then separated by Congress in 1974 as a stand-alone organization, fully independent from any other federal agencies.

Since its creation in 1967, the agency reports it has investigated more than 153,000 aviation accidents and incidents.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/what-to-know-about-the-ntsb-and-the-investigation-into-the-dc-plane-crash/3831681/

NTSB Prelim: Cessna T210L

During The Forced Landing, The Airplane Impacted Power Lines And Rough Terrain

Location: Gallup, NM  Accident Number: WPR25LA071
Date & Time: December 27, 2024, 21:03 Local  Registration: N505SW
Aircraft: Cessna T210L  Injuries: 2 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal

On December 27, 2024 at 2103 mountain standard time, a Cessna T210L, N505SW was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Gallup Municipal Airport (GUP), Gallup, New Mexico. The pilot and one passenger were not injured. The aircraft was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

According to the pilot, as the airplane entered the base turn to land on runway 24 at GUP, she noted the airplane was descending faster than expected and added engine power; however, the engine did not respond. The pilot verified the position of the engine controls and fuel selector and noted each fuel tank appeared to be half-full. The pilot stated they were unable to reach the runway and initiated a forced landing in a vacant lot about 1,800 ft west of runway 24. During the forced landing, the airplane impacted power lines and rough terrain, which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing and fuselage.

The airplane was retained for further examination.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov

Today in History

25 Years ago today: On 31 January 2000 Alaska Airlines flight 261, an MD-83, crashed into the sea off Anacapa Island, CA, USA, following a loss of control, killing all 88 occupants.

Date: Monday 31 January 2000

Time: 16:20

Type: McDonnell Douglas DC-9-83 (MD-83)

Owner/operator: Alaska Airlines

Registration: N963AS

MSN: 53077/1995

Year of manufacture: 1992

Total airframe hrs: 26584 hours

Cycles: 14315 flights

Engine model: P&W JT8D-219

Fatalities: Fatalities: 88 / Occupants: 88

Other fatalities: 0

Aircraft damage: Destroyed, written off

Category: Accident

Location: 4,5 km N off Anacapa Island, CA -   United States of America

Phase: En route

Nature: Passenger - Scheduled

Departure airport: Puerto Vallarta-Gustavo D. Ordaz Airport (PVR/MMPR)

Destination airport: San Francisco International Airport, CA (SFO/KSFO)

Investigating agency: NTSB

Confidence Rating:  Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:

Alaska Airlines flight 261, an MD-83, crashed into the sea off Anacapa Island, CA, USA, following a loss of control, killing all 88 occupants.

Flight AS261 departed Puerto Vallarta at about 14:30 PST for a flight to San Francisco and Seattle. En route to San Francisco a FL310 a problem arose with the stabilizer trim. At 16:10 the crew radioed Los Angeles ARTCC that they were having control problems and that they were descending through FL260. At 16:11 Los Angeles ARTCC asked the condition of the flight and were told that they were troubleshooting a jammed stabilizer. The crew requested, and were granted, a FL200-FL250 block altitude clearance. At 16:15 the crew were handed off to Los Angeles sector control. The Alaska Airlines crew reported problems maintaining their altitude and told their intentions to divert to Los Angeles International Airport. They were cleared to do so at 16:16. The crew then requested permission to descend to FL100 over water to change their aircraft configuration . Los Angeles cleared them to FL170. Last message from Flight 261 was when they requested another block altitude. The request was granted at 16:17, without a readback from the crew. During the descent the crew was also talking to Alaska Airlines maintenance personnel in Seattle and Los Angeles to troubleshoot their stabilizer trim problems. As the crew attempted to diagnose or correct the problem the out-of-trim condition became worse, causing a tendency for the plane to pitch nose-down. When preparing the plane for landing control was lost and the MD-83 was seen 'tumbling, spinning, nose down, continuous roll, corkscrewing and inverted'. The aircraft crashed off Point Mugu in 650 feet deep water.

PROBABLE CAUSE: "A loss of airplane pitch control resulting from the in-flight failure of the horizontal stabilizer trim system jackscrew assembly’s acme nut threads. The thread failure was caused by excessive wear resulting from Alaska Airlines’ insufficient lubrication of the jackscrew assembly.

Contributing to the accident were Alaska Airlines’ extended lubrication interval and the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) approval of that extension, which increased the likelihood that a missed or inadequate lubrication would result in excessive wear of the acme nut threads, and Alaska Airlines’ extended end play check interval and the FAA’s approval of that extension, which allowed the excessive wear of the acme nut threads to progress to failure without the opportunity for detection. Also contributing to the accident was the absence on the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 of a fail-safe mechanism to prevent the catastrophic effects of total acme nut thread loss."