Friday 31 / January / 2025
Cockpit voice and flight data recorders have been recovered from the plane that crashed in Washington, D.C., according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
"NTSB investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the Bombardier CRJ700 airplane involved in yesterday's midair collision at DCA," board spokesperson Peter Knudson said late on Thursday.
"The recorders are at the NTSB labs for evaluation."
The agency has also begun the process of collecting wreckage, including parts of the helicopter, and storing it in a hangar at Reagan National Airport.
Investigators say more time needed to establish facts
US investigators said it will take time to understand what caused a deadly midair collision between a passenger jet and a military helicopter over Washington, D.C.
"We conduct an important safety mission where we take a very careful approach," National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chair Jennifer Homendy told journalists.
"We look at facts... and that will take some time."
Meanwhile, NTSB board member Todd Inman also said there would be no immediate conclusions about the cause of the disaster.
The statements come after US President Donald Trump earlier in the day blamed the crash on the helicopter's pilots, night-vision goggles and diversity hiring, without providing any evidence.
Trump names acting FAA director to fill vacant position
During his Thursday press conference, Donald Trump announced that he had appointed a new acting director to head the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is in charge of controlling US skies.
US Air Force veteran Chris Rocheleau has been tapped by Trump to lead the department, which he was part of for 20 years before becoming chief operating officer of the National Business Aviation Association, a lobbying group.
On January 20, the previous director, Mike Whitaker, stepped down early from his five-year posting after Elon Musk demanded he resign.
Musk, Trump's biggest donor, one of his closest advisors, and the owner of Space X — a private space company with massive government contracts — complained about Whitaker's oversight of rocket launches.
Whitaker had been unanimously confirmed as FAA boss in October 2023. The post of FAA administrator has been vacant for the past 10 days as a result of his resignation.
