US calls experienced crew of crashed Black hawk military plane experienced
The crew of the Black hawk aircraft that collided with a civilian plane at Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington, D.C., consisted of experienced pilots who wore night vision devices. Reuters reported this on January 30, citing the Pentagon.
"We expect the investigation will quickly be able to determine whether the aircraft was in the corridor and at the correct altitude at the time of the incident," the agency quoted Defense Secretary Pete Hagseth as saying.
The Pentagon has ordered all unit sorties in Washington canceled for 48 hours and is investigating the circumstances of the incident. The reason why the collision occurred has not yet been determined.
On the night of January 30, an American Airlines passenger plane and a Blackhawk military helicopter collided near Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. After the crash, they fell into the Potomac River. A total of 60 passengers and four crew members were aboard the plane. There were three military personnel in the helicopter. NBC News reported that the bodies of more than 30 victims were recovered from the water.
German pilot and aviation expert Peter Gatz suggested that the cause of the crash could have been a mistake by air traffic controllers.
Later it was reported that on board the plane, tentatively, were eight skaters and four coaches. It is known that among them - bronze medalist of the USSR championship in pairs figure skating and former figure skater Inna Volyanskaya and world champions in figure skating Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the information that Russian citizens were on board the plane.
US President Donald Trump, in turn, called the airplane crash that occurred in Washington, terrible. He said that the tragedy could have been avoided if the helicopter crew had changed course.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
