AIRPORT ARRESTS
Two airport workers arrested for ‘leaking vid’ of American Airlines jet disaster that left 67 people dead
The crash, which left the nation reeling, was America's deadliest air disaster in 25 years.
TWO men have been arrested after allegedly leaking footage of a fatal crash that involved an American Airlines passenger plane and a military helicopter.
The jet and a Black Hawk helicopter plunged into the icy Potomac River in Washington, D.C., last Wednesday after colliding at Reagan National Airport, killing 67.
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The air disaster was America’s deadliest in 25 years.
Footage of the crash went viral and investigators have arrested two people.
Both are part of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
Mohamed Lamine Mbengue, 21, was arrested and charged with computer trespass.
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Jonathan Savoy, 45, has also been hit with the same charge.
More than 50 bodies have been recovered from the crash site.
On Monday, crews were seen hoisting the plane's engine and fuselage from the water.
Crews are confident that they will find all of the bodies.
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"We're going to recover everyone," John Donnelly, the Washington Fire and EMS chief, said on Sunday.
But he alluded to the difficulties crews are having when it comes to retrieving the bodies.
"If we knew where they were, though, we would already have them out," he said.
"So we have some work to do as the salvage operation goes on."
It is expected that it will take around three days for the plane wreckage to be removed.
But, officials have admitted the weather could pose a challenge.
Wind is going to hit Washington DC on Tuesday, which could disrupt efforts.
"That goal may be impacted tomorrow by a couple of environmental conditions, notably the wind," Frank Pena, of the US Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore district, warned.
"But we're going to stay conscious kind of where those gusts and sustained winds are, and we'll make sure that we're communicating that effectively."
Once all of the remnants of the American Airlines plane are removed, crews will turn to the debris of the Black Hawk.
The Black Hawk chopper involved was a Sikorsky UH-60 and it was rehearsing an emergency evacuation scenario.
Three soldiers were on board when it smashed into the plane.
Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk fact file
A SIKORSKY UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed into an American Airlines plane carrying 64 people on January 29. The collision happened as the jet was about to land at Reagan national airport. The three soldiers on board the helicopter and the 64 people on the plane died as both aircraft plunged into the freezing Potomac river.
Army personnel have used Black Hawk helicopters since the late 1970s.
Black Hawk helicopters don't just transport troops; the flying machines are used in search and rescue missions, and deliver supplies to war-torn nations.
Here are some facts about the helicopter:
- Cost: Between $5.9 million and $10.2 million.
- Top speed: 183mph.
- Range: 1,380 miles.
- Engines: Powered by two electric engines that have 2,000 horsepower each.
- Length: 50 feet one inch.
- Height: 16 feet 10 inches.
- Troop capacity: Up to 11 fully equipped soldiers.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the copter was training to evacuate government personnel in an emergency event.
"Without getting anything into anything that's classified, there are many things that happen in and around the Capitol that ensure in a contingency, in an emergency, our government is able to continue to operate,” he told .
Hegseth previously revealed the helicopter's pilots were wearing night goggles, but investigators are probing the eyewear.
Republican congressman Mark Green, who represents Tennessee's seventh congressional district, told the pilots should've been able to see the lights of the jet.
President Trump revealed the Black Hawk was flying "too high."
Officials on the National Transportation Safety Board confirm they know where the copter's black boxes are.
They were identified as Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, 39, and Staff Sergeant Ryan O'Hara, 28.
The third soldier on board the doomed helicopter was Rebecca Lobach, 28.
Lobach was a former White House aide who served under ex-president Joe Biden.
She had been in the Army since 2019 and her family revealed she had racked up more than 450 hours of flight time.
Lobach had received accolades such as the Army Commendation Medal, and Army Achievement Medal.
The American Airlines plane, a Bombardier CRJ700, was en-route from Wichita, Kansas, and about to land at Reagan national airport when the tragedy struck around 9pm local time.
Surveillance footage captured the moment the plane burst into flames following the high-impact collision.
Both aircraft then fell into the water, sparking a frantic search effort.
Crews worked desperately but there were no survivors.
The American Airlines plane, which had 64 people on board, was carrying world champion figure skaters.
The cause of the crash has not yet been determined, but President Donald Trump seemed to blame diversity.
He lashed out at the Federal Aviation Administration and claimed the organization had recruited people with intellectual disabilities and psychiatric problems.
Trump also blasted Biden and former president Barack Obama for supposed bad hiring.
LAST-DITCH SWERVE?
The president also said the helicopter was flying too high at 200 feet.
But, data from the plane's recorder, revealed the jet was at approximately 325 feet at the time of the crash.
This is a difference of more than 100 feet, which has raised the possibility that the plane was trying to perform a maneuver to avoid the collision.
Officials at the National Transportation Safety Board have confirmed a preliminary cause will be published in the coming weeks.
"This a complex investigation," Brice Banning, of the NTSB, said.
"There are a lot of pieces here.
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"Our team is working hard to gather this data."
Sean Duffy, the Transportation Secretary, said the disaster was "absolutely" preventable.
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