Washington plane crash: Black box found as two warnings heard by Black Hawk before mid-air crash

The black box from the US Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided with a passenger jet in Washington DC has been recovered, as radio transmissions have also been analysed.

The black box from the US Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided with a commercial passenger jet and crashed into the Potomac River in Washington DC has been recovered, investigators announced.

They are now reviewing that flight data recorder along with two recovered earlier from the jet.

“We have recovered the Sikorsky black box,” Todd Inman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, told reporters.

Air traffic controllers also alerted the helicopter crew to the presence of the American Airlines jet twice, with the first warning issued two minutes before the crash.

Aviation experts who reviewed radio transmissions for The Washington Post said the Black Hawk helicopter responded each time by saying they could see the plane and requested “visual separation”. This request was approved twice.

Experts now suggest the crew may have seen something else and not the American Airlines flight flagged twice by the air traffic controller.

A Coast Guard crane arrives to remove the wreckage of a military Black Hawk helicopter after the crash of an American Airlines plane on the Potomac River.

“If he was looking at the right airplane he wouldn’t have hit him,” retired National Transportation Safety Board investigator Scott Dunham told The Post. “They were miles apart. … The resolution literally takes seconds.”

Haunting new video footage has also emerged, giving the clearest view yet of the moment the American Airlines passenger plane and Army helicopter exploded into pieces — sending huge chunks of fiery debris crashing into the frigid water below.

The mobile phone footage, obtained by CNN, emerged alongside claims that questionable hiring polices implemented by the US Federal Aviation Authority may have played a role in the fatal crash.

New footage of the mid-air crash.

The footage shows the Black Hawk helicopter’s red tail lights flashing as it flies directly toward the passenger jet approaching the runway at Ronald Reagan National Airport at about 9pm Wednesday (1pm AEDT Thursday).

The tragic midair collision killed 67 people in America’s deadliest aviation disaster since 2001.

Remnants of the helicopter, which was carrying three soldiers, also spiralled downwards with its flashing lights still visible, the footage showed.

The crash occurred when American Airlines Flight 5342, travelling from Wichita, Kansas, collided with an Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter just 400 feet above the iconic waterway in Washington, DC.

A first responder salutes as two ambulances carrying the flag draped bodies of service members killed.

The Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet, which had 60 passengers and four crew on-board exploded in a fireball and broke into three pieces. Three soldiers on the chopper were also killed.

The collision sparked a huge fireball, with large sections of the plane plunging into the icy Potomac River, where it was later found in three pieces.

The remains of 41 people had been pulled from the river, including 28 that had been positively identified.

Debris is washed up on shore near the crash site of an American Airlines plane along the Potomac River.

Washington DC Fire Chief John Donnelly Sr said next of kin notifications had been made to 18 families, and he expects all the remains to be recovered.

The wreckage of the plane’s fuselage will have to be pulled from the water to get all the bodies, he said.

“This is heartbreaking work,” Mr Donnelly said.

“It’s been a tough response for a lot of our people.”

It was unclear how long the recovery operation would take.

“We’re working as fast as we can,” Me Donnelly said. “We need your patience.”

Members of the Alexandria Fire Department look for debris near the crash site of an American Airlines plane along the shoreline of the Potomac River.

Although Ronald Reagan National Airport reopened, two of its three runways remained closed to keep aircraft from flying over the crash scene, Terry Liercke, the airport’s vice president and manager said.

The Federal Aviation Administration has also heavily restricted helicopter traffic around the airport, the Department of Transportation said in a statement, hours after President Donald Trump claimed in a social media post that the Army Black Hawk had been flying higher than allowed.

“The Blackhawk helicopter was flying too high, by a lot. It was far above the 200 foot limit. That’s not really too complicated to understand, is it???” Mr Trump said on Truth Social early Saturday.

Originally published as Washington plane crash: Black box found as two warnings heard by Black Hawk before mid-air crash