NTSB has recovered ‘black box’ data recorder from Black Hawk helicopter
The National Transportation Safety Board has recovered the flight “black box” from the downed Black Hawk helicopter, that appears to be undamaged, board member Todd Inman said.
Yesterday, the NTSB has recovered a flight data recorder “in good condition” from the accident, he said, though it will not be releasing information from that device immediately. The cockpit voice recorder that was recovered, in contrast, had “water intrusion,” a problem that investigators are now dealing with, but they have “a very high level of confidence” that they will get information from that device, Inman said.
Air Traffic Control has been conducting interviews with the relevant witnesses today, and will continue those interviews through tonight and into the coming days, he said.
Barges are en route from Virginia Beach to assist in the salvage operation tomorrow morning and recover the downed aircraft. Emergency responders will be working closely with DC medical examiner’s office to ensure that the bodies of victims are also recovered and identified, Inman said.
Share
Updated at 17.56 EST
Key events
Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
Closing summary
As the investigation into Wednesday night’s deadly collision between a commercial plane and a Black Hawk military helicopter continues, here’s what we know:
More than 40 bodies have been recovered so far, of 67 people lost, officials said. The recovery efforts in the frigid Potomac River have been challenging, and will continue over the next few days.
More of the victims have been identified by their family members and friends, including a Filipino police officer, two lawyers, a law professor, two Chinese citizens, two parents from Kansas, a GE Aerospace employee, two young figure skaters and their parents, the president-elect of the National Association of Biology Teachers, and a college student.
The FAA and Trump’s newly appointed secretary of transportation announced that helicopter flights in the vicinity of Ronald Reagan airport would be temporarily restricted, with some exceptions for active law enforcement and emergency flights and Marine One, the president’s helicopter.
The army identified two of the three soldiers on the Black Hawk helicopter who were killed in the collision, as Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland, but said they were not immediately releasing the name of the third crew member on board the helicopter, at the request of the family, in what some news outlets said was a “highly unusual” choice.
The “black boxes” from both American Airlines flight 5342 and the military helicopter have been recovered and will be analyzed, a National Transportation Safety Board member said on Friday evening, noting that the cockpit voice recorder from the commercial flight appeared to have sustained some water damage.
President Donald Trump said on his social media platform that the military helicopter involved in the crash was flying above the 200 foot limit, despite officials still investigating. A White House spokesperson defended his post.
The father of one of the Black Hawk crew members killed in the crash criticized president Trump’s comments on Thursday blaming “DEI” for the tragedy, and said that no one in the army flies a helicopter without being highly qualified.
There are now over 100 family members of the crash victims in the Washington area receiving briefings from officials, a NTSB official said.
Share
Updated at 18.42 EST
NTSB board member emphasizes investigation is ‘nonpartisan’
Asked about the political dimension of the emergency response, and whether board members had been hearing directly from the White House Inman emphasized that the NTSB was a “nonpartisan” group and said their sole focus was making sure a tragedy like this never happens again.
“I never want to have to brief another set of families like that,” Inman said, and ended the press conference, as reporters continued shouting questions at him.
Share
Updated at 18.04 EST
NTSB: investigation will look closely at air traffic controllers
The investigation into the fatal crash will involve intense scrutiny of every air traffic controller involved in the incident, which will likely include a review of everything those air traffic controllers had done in the previous 72 hours before the incident, or perhaps even weeks beforehand, Todd Inman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said at a press briefing on Friday evening in Washington.
“We’ll look at their training, their hiring, everything, what they probably ate that day,” Inman said.
The air traffic controller who was working at the time “has been interviewed” and those interviews are “ongoing”, he said.
But the investigation will also examine a wide range of other potential contributing factors, like weather, staffing levels, or construction in various parts of the airport, he said.
Share
Updated at 18.04 EST
NTSB has recovered ‘black box’ data recorder from Black Hawk helicopter
The National Transportation Safety Board has recovered the flight “black box” from the downed Black Hawk helicopter, that appears to be undamaged, board member Todd Inman said.
Yesterday, the NTSB has recovered a flight data recorder “in good condition” from the accident, he said, though it will not be releasing information from that device immediately. The cockpit voice recorder that was recovered, in contrast, had “water intrusion,” a problem that investigators are now dealing with, but they have “a very high level of confidence” that they will get information from that device, Inman said.
Air Traffic Control has been conducting interviews with the relevant witnesses today, and will continue those interviews through tonight and into the coming days, he said.
Barges are en route from Virginia Beach to assist in the salvage operation tomorrow morning and recover the downed aircraft. Emergency responders will be working closely with DC medical examiner’s office to ensure that the bodies of victims are also recovered and identified, Inman said.
Share
Updated at 17.56 EST
There are now over 100 family members of the crash victims in the Washington area receiving briefings, Todd Inman of the National Transportation Safety Board said.
Share
Todd Inman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, is now briefing the public on updates in Wednesday night’s aviation crash.
Inman said he had spent the last several hours with the family members of the dozens of people killed in the crash, who are having a very difficult time, he said.
Inman role now includes fact-finding and making sure a tragedy like this “never happens again”, he said.
Share
Updated at 17.52 EST
Father of Black Hawk crew member killed in crash criticizes Trump
Gary O’Hara, whose son Ryan O’Hara was one of the Black Hawk pilots killed after the helicopter collided with a commercial airline, has spoken out about his son’s love for his work, and the pain of hearing Donald Trump blame the tragedy on “DEI”.
“You have to earn your spot to be moved into the ladder to be put into that helicopter. They don’t just give it to you. You earn it,” the father told CBS News. “And you know, all of those soldiers that protect us, they earn their stripes every single day.”
Share
Updated at 17.54 EST
A news briefing from the National Transportation Safety Board will happen soon.
The briefing is expected in about 10 minutes, and can be viewed online here.
Share
Updated at 17.53 EST
A transgender woman who serves as a helicopter pilot in the Virginia air national guard was falsely identified on social media as the pilot of the downed Black Hawk plane, the New York Times reported. The false identification reportedly sparked tens of thousands of posts and hundreds of thousands of views on X, a social media platform owned by Trump ally Elon Musk.
The pilot, who released her own social media video about the false claims, called them “insulting to the families” and said: “They don’t deserve that. I don’t deserve this.” She did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the New York Times.
As political attacks on transgender people in the US have escalated in the past four years, one common form of public harassment is falsely blaming a trans person for having a role in a particular tragedy.
In late 2024, NBC news described this as “a trend on the conservative internet that now plays out after many high-profile crimes: people hunt for clues to try to connect a given crime to transgender people, or they jump to the conclusion that a suspect is transgender regardless of whether evidence points that way or is relevant to the crime.”
Share
Updated at 17.53 EST
‘Highly unusual:’ one person who died onboard helicopter not named
Earlier today, the army released the names of two of the soldiers who were onboard the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with a commercial airliner near Reagan airport on Wednesday night.
But the army did not immediately release the name of the third soldier who died on the helicopter, saying it was withholding the name at the family’s request.
The New York Times called the choice not to release the third soldier’s name “an extraordinary step,” and “highly unusual” noting that “typically, the names of service members killed during a peacetime accident or in combat zones are made public about 24 hours after their relatives have been notified”.
The Times and other outlets have reported that the third, not-yet-identified soldier is a woman.
On Thursday, 6ABC Action News and other outlets cited an official spokesperson, Jonathan Koziol, a retired army chief warrant officer, who described the Black Hawk helicopter crew as a “very experienced group” of pilots.
“Koziol confirmed to reporters on a conference call that the male instructor pilot had more than 1,000 hours of flight time, the female pilot who was commanding the flight at the time had more than 500 hours of flight time, and the crew chief was also said to have hundreds of hours of flight time,” 6ABC Action News reported.
The Black Hawk crew was on a routine night-time qualification flight, an annual exam in which an instructor pilot tests another pilot’s skills in navigating the Washington area, Koziol told the news outlets.
Divisive comments from Donald Trump and his top officials, who have blamed the crash on past diversity efforts within the Federal Aviation Authority without offering any specifics, have put an additional spotlight on the identities of the pilots and the air traffic controllers involved in the crash.
Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News television host who is now Trump’s secretary of defense, said in interviews just months before his confirmation that he does not believe women should serve in military combat roles.
Share
Updated at 17.18 EST
The Associated Press has new details on the previously announced temporary restrictions on helicopter flights near Reagan National airport:
The area over the Potomac River and near the airport is now off-limits to most helicopters to ensure safety in the aftermath of the crash, the FAA said.
The exceptions include emergency medical helicopters, active law enforcement and air defense. The presidential helicopter Marine One is also exempt.
The restrictions are expected to continue at least until the National Transportation Safety Board finishes its preliminary report, expected within 30 days.
Share
Updated at 17.15 EST
Efforts to recover bodies of victims ‘heartbreaking’ work – fire chief
The Potomac River is a grim place today, as emergency responders continued to search for the bodies of more than two dozen people who have not yet been recovered.
“This is heartbreaking work,” Washington DC fire chief John Donnelly said at a press conference earlier today, according to the Associated Press, noting that more than 300 responders were taking part in the effort at any one time, including teams of divers and two US coast guard cutters, at least one of which carries a crane. “It’s been a tough response for a lot of our people.”
The Associated Press also interviewed Dean Naujoks, who routinely patrols the Potomac for the environmental group Waterkeeper Alliance, and who had permission to be out on the river on Thursday.
Naujoks said he saw wreckage in the river that included pages from a flight manual, part of the plane’s cabin wall, a woman’s sweater, dozens of sugar packets with the American Airlines logo and what appeared to be the cushion from a pilot’s seat.
“Everything is covered in jet fuel,” Naujoks said on Friday. “The sugar packets made me think of the flight attendants. I’m thinking of the people these things belonged to and it’s a punch to the gut. It’s just a sad day on the river.”
Share
Updated at 17.15 EST
Eric Adams, New York’s mayor, announces that a 28-year-old New Yorker was one of the 67 victims on the flight.
In a post on social media, Adams said that on Friday, he learned that “one of the 67 victims of the heartbreaking crash on Wednesday was a fellow New Yorker, Melissa Jane Nicandri.”
“At just 28 years old, her life was tragically cut short” he said. “My heart and my prayers go out to her loved ones.”
Her family said that she was returning from a work trip in Kansas, and was connecting through Reagan.
Her mother told The Gothamist that “she was an amazing woman, she was an amazing girl and had so much going for her”.
She lived in Brooklyn Heights, her mother said.
Share
Updated at 15.47 EST
Sean Duffy, the US transportation secretary, has confirmed that effective today, the Federal Aviation Administration will restrict helicopter traffic around Ronald Reagan Washington National airport.
“Today’s decision will immediately help secure the airspace near Reagan airport, ensuring the safety of airplane and helicopter traffic,” Duffy said, adding that this is part of the US Department of Transportation’s “ongoing commitment to safeguarding our nation’s skies and upholding the highest standards of air travel safety”.
“The American people deserve full confidence in our aviation system and today’s action is a significant step towards restoring that trust” he said.
The restricted area includes Memorial Bridge to South Capitol Street Bridge, excluding the Tidal Basin, Haines Point to Wilson Bridge and over the top of DCA, he added.
Duffy said that the decision was made with the support of Donald Trump and in consultation with secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth.
Share
Updated at 15.48 EST
The US army has released the names of two of the three soldiers killed in Wednesday’s midair collision, but withholds the name of the third at the family’s request.
The army identified two of the soldiers killed was staff sergeant Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia, and chief warrant officer Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland.
“At the request of the family, the name of the third soldier will not be released at this time,” an army statement said.
Eaves served in the US navy from August 2007 to September 2017 before transitioning to a Black Hawk pilot for the army in September of 2017. His remains have not yet been recovered.
O’Hara began serving as Black Hawk helicopter mechanic in July 2014, and was deployed to Afghanistan from March 2017 to August 2017.
Both soldiers have received numerous awards.
“Our deepest condolences go out to all the families and friends impacted during this tragedy, and we will support them through this difficult time,” Maj Gen Trevor J Bredenkamp, said in a statement.
“Our top priority is to assist in the recovery efforts, while fully cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and other investigative agencies to determine the cause of this tragic incident,” he added.
Share
Updated at 17.23 EST
The unified command has activated peer support for first responders, DC officials said on Friday.
The World Central Kitchen’s relief team and many other local restaurants have also provided meals and snacks to first responders, officials said.
Share
Updated at 17.24 EST
