THE US FEDERAL AVIATION Administration (FAA) has restricted airspace to helicopters over the Potomac River where a mid-air collision yesterday killed 67 people in the US’s deadliest aviation disaster in almost a quarter of a century.

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 on Wednesday night at Ronald Reagan National Airport next to Washington DC.

Recovery efforts are continuing today, with 41 bodies having been pulled from the Potomac River.

In a statement, the US Department of Transportation said the airspace restriction will exempt helicopters entering this airspace for lifesaving medical support, active law enforcement, active air defense, or presidential transport helicopter missions.

The statement said the restrictions will remain in place until investigators complete their preliminary probe into the crash. It will then be reviewed based on their report.

Officials are scrutinising 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.

Authorities were still looking for the helicopter’s black box recorder, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday on Fox News Channel.

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.

‘Speculation’

The helicopter’s maximum allowed altitude at the time was 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.

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Todd Inman said a preliminary report should be compiled in 30 days but “the overall investigation will probably take a year.”

“It has to be accurate,” he told CNN. “We’re not going to put something out quick just so we can end some speculation.”

Inman said the investigation would resist political pressure.

“Yes, absolutely,” he told CNN. “There’s a lot of people that have speculation and want to be heard in that regard. We understand that, but our job is to find, ultimately, what caused this and prevent it in the future.”

The head of the Air Line Pilots Association likewise pleaded for official investigators to be allowed to do their work.

Crosses are seen at a makeshift memorial for the victims of the plane crash in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

“A lot of details and speculation will come out in response to this tragedy, but we must remember to let the investigation run its course,” Captain Jason Ambrosi said in a statement.

Wednesday’s crash was the deadliest in the US since November 12, 2001, when an American Airlines flight slammed into a residential area of Belle Harbour, New York, just after take-off from Kennedy Airport, killing all 260 people aboard and five people on the ground.

The last major fatal crash involving a US 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.

Staffing levels

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.

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 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that was obtained by AP.

Those duties are often divided between two people, but the airport typically combines the roles at 9.30pm, 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.

Its former chief resigned ten days ago after Trump’s close ally Elon Musk called for him to quit. 

After one of the company’s Starships exploded during take-off earlier this year, the FAA suspended launches of the SpaceX rockets. 

Trump has named Chris Rocheleau as acting FAA administrator until a permanent choice is confirmed by the Senate.

One controller, rather than the usual two, was handling both plane and helicopter traffic, the Times quoted a preliminary Federal Aviation Administration report as saying.

A fireball erupted in the night sky and both aircraft tumbled into the icy Potomac, leaving rescue crews with the grim, difficult task of searching for bodies in the dark and cold.

Over 40 bodies had been recovered as of yesterday evening, according to US media reports.

National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman speaks during a press conference at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The plane was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, while there were three soldiers were aboard the helicopter.

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What we know about the Washington DC aircraft collision

US President Donald Trump told a White House news conference that no one survived.

“We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” said John Donnelly, the Washington DC fire chief yesterday.

The crash occurred before 9pm in some of the most tightly controlled and monitored airspace in the world, about 4.8 kilometres south of the White House and the Capitol.

Air crash investigations can take months, and federal investigators told reporters they would not speculate on the cause.

Meanwhile, China has expressed “deep condolences” and extended ”sincere sympathies” to affected after two of its nationals died in the crash.

“China has requested the US side to promptly update it on the progress of the search and rescue operations, swiftly clarify the cause of the accident and properly handle follow-up matters,” a spokesperson for Beijing’s foreign ministry said.

Air traffic control

National Transportation Safety Board investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder from the Bombardier CRJ700 airplane, agency spokesperson Peter Knudson said. They were at the agency’s labs for evaluation.

The plane was found upside-down in three sections in waist-deep water, and first responders were searching miles of the Potomac, Donnelly said. The helicopter wreckage was also found. Images from the river showed boats around the partly submerged wing and the mangled wreckage of the plane’s fuselage.

American Airlines chief executive Robert Isom said the plane was making a normal approach when “the military aircraft came into the path” of the jet.

Wreckage is seen in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Trump casts blame 

Trump opened the news conference with a moment of silence honouring the crash victims, calling it an “hour of anguish” for the country.

But he spent most of his time casting political blame, lashing out at former president Joe Biden’s administration and policies that promoted diversity at the Federal Aviation Administration, saying they had led to slipping standards – even as he acknowledged that the cause of the crash was unknown.

Without evidence, Trump blamed air traffic controllers, the helicopter pilots and Democratic policies at federal agencies. He claimed that the FAA was “actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative”.

Wreckage from the crash in the Potomac River, Washington Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Inside Reagan National, the mood was sombre yesterday as stranded passengers waited for flights to resume, sidestepping camera crews and staring out the windows at the Potomac, where recovery efforts were barely visible in the distance.

Aster Andemicael had been there since the previous evening with her older adult father, who was flying to Indiana to visit relatives. She spent much of the long night thinking about the victims and their families.

“I’ve been crying since yesterday,” Ms Andemicael said, her voice cracking. “This is devastating.”

Flights resumed around midday.

With reporting from AFP and Press Association