Were following the tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of 67 people as the aircraft headed towards the Reagan National Airport in Washington DC.
Were also learning Tonight that a former Westmont graduate, her husband and her two children were reportedly among the victims who died in the crash.
But first officials are calling the midair collision between a Army Helicopter and an American Airlines flight the worst aviation disaster in a generation
A Military Helicopter collided with an american airlines jet over the Potomac river while it was trying to land at the airport.
There were 64 people aboard the American Airlines Plane, including a group of figure skaters, family members, and coaches.
And there were 3 soldiers aboard the Military Helicopter.
Investigators are still looking into the factors that may have caused the crash.
“There was not a breakdown in communication between the Military Helicopter and the American Airline flight. There was communication between the aircraft and the tower.”
Several Federal Agencies are now investigating how these two aircrafts wound up on a collision course, Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy says it’s the first full day of work for them as they wait and allow first responders to conduct
their rescue and recovery missions.
The NTSB has around 50 people on scene and their labs are a mile down the road.
They are also briefing the victims families today, as they arrive in DC.
“The loss of life in an aviation accident is very unusual in the United States. Our heartfelt sorrow goes out to everyone it affects. It affects us. It affects everyone around us. There are a lot of people hurting Today. We will find out what happened. We will do it factually, we will do it accurately.”
A preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration found there was one air traffic controller working two different tower positions at the time of the crash last night.
It’s not an uncommon setup for one person to handle both local and helicopter traffic.
But reports says only having one controller was quote not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic.