US suspends flights of unit of helicopter that collided with airplane
Helicopters of the 12th Aviation Battalion, which included a Blackhawk helicopter that collided with a passenger plane at Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington, have temporarily suspended flights. This was reported by Reuters on January 30, citing sources.
It is not known for how long the flights are suspended. It is specified that helicopters, which are part of the U.S. National Guard troops, will continue flights over Washington to help in the search for the dead.
On the night of January 30, near Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington collided passenger plane American Airlines and military helicopter Blackhawk, after the accident 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. US President Donald Trump said that no one survived the plane crash.
The wreckage of American Eagle Flight 5342 and the military helicopter remain in the river for now. German pilot and aviation expert Peter Gatz suggested that the collision may have been caused by an error by air traffic controllers.
It was later reported that the plane was tentatively carrying eight skaters and four coaches. The Boston Figure Skating Club said that the coaches, world figure skating champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, as well as hopeful junior figure skaters with their parents were on board. In addition, former figure skater Inna Volyanskaya was on the plane. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the information about the presence of Russians in the crashed plane.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that the collision of the plane with the helicopter could have been prevented. The same opinion is held by Trump, who noted that the tragedy could have been avoided if the helicopter crew had changed course.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
