DC plane crash investigators to review communication between 2 aircraft: senator

An investigation into how an American Airlines jet carrying dozens of passengers and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided midair at Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., will likely involve communication between the two aircraft, Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said Thursday morning.

“What we’re seeing right now is what happens if you have a lack of communication or a misunderstanding,” Rounds, who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told “Fox & Friends First.”

Rounds said that investigators will look at everything that happened during the flight, including potential mechanical breakdowns and avionic system failures, but he believes much of the discussion surrounding the collision will focus on communication between the aircraft and whether that communication was accurate.

“I’m sure there will be some second guessing, but I suspect that when everything is done and the dust settles the chances are really good that they’ll talk about a lack of communication between the aircraft,” Rounds said.

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The cause of the collision remains unknown in the hours after the accident. Hundreds of first responders conducted a massive search-and-rescue operation for survivors in the frigid waters of the Potomac River in Arlington, Virginia. The operation turned into a recovery later Thursday morning. More than 30 bodies have been recovered so far, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz told Fox News.

The collision happened around 9 p.m. EST when a PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet collided in midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on approach to Runway 33 at Reagan National Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.

PSA was operating as Flight 5342 for American Airlines, and it departed from Wichita, Kansas. American Airlines said the jet was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members.

An Army official said three soldiers were onboard the helicopter as the aircraft was flying a training mission. The Army described the helicopter as a UH-60 Blackhawk based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia.

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All takeoffs and landings from the airport were halted as dive teams and helicopters from law enforcement agencies across the region scoured the site for survivors. Images showed boats around a partly submerged wing and what appeared to be the mangled wreckage of the plane’s fuselage.

Reagan Airport will reopen at 11 a.m. Thursday, the FAA said. 

Rounds said while questions over safety around the airport will begin to surface, it is important to take care of the families of those onboard the two aircraft and first responders.

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“This is a terrible tragedy,” he said. “Right now, I think we hold those families close and we think about them, we think about the crews and also those first responders that have been out there all night long.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.