Meanwhile, new footage has emerged of the mid-air collision. Army withholding name of female soldier killed in DC collision. The US army has made a unusual decision at the request of the family not to release the name of one of the three soldiers killed when the military Black Hawk collided with the passenger jet. The army identified two of the soldiers killed as Staff Sergeant Ryan Austin O’Hara and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, but did not provide details about the third. (Photo: Plane crash wreckage).

Reuters had reported on Thursday that the crew of the Black Hawk involved in the deadly crash with an American Airlines regional passenger jet included two male soldiers and one female soldier. “At the request of the family, the name of the third soldier will not be released at this time,” an army statement reads. Yesterday, Donald Trump suggested, without evidence, that the collision was the result of the Federal Aviation Administration’s efforts to hire a more diverse workforce.

New footage shows collision over river – WARNING: This footage shows the moment the passenger jet collided with the army helicopter, which some viewers may find distressing. Video from airport security cameras obtained by CNN shows two clear angles of the collision between an American Eagle jet and Army helicopter near Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC. The footage comes as divers continue to search the Potomac River.

Investigators have already recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder of the American Airlines plane. ‘We will look at any air traffic controller involved in this’ Asked how critical the air traffic control interviews of staffing are, NTSB Todd Inman confirms these are critical. He says: “That is why there is a process in place that began after the accident.  “It was preservation of evidence. It was immediately taking down notes and giving logs.

“We will go back and look at any air traffic controller involved in this. We will look at their past 72 hours, even their past two or three weeks, their training, hiring, what they probably ate that day.” Two recorders retrieved from passenger jet – NTSB Todd Inman goes on to say teams have recovered two separate recorders from the passenger jet. One was a flight data recorder which was in “good condition” and the other was a voice recorder.

“We have confidence we will be able to get a full download of the flight data recorder in the future. Once we have that download, we will not be releasing the information immediately,” he says. The voice recorder had “water intrusion, “, he says. “That is not uncommon,” he explains. “We deal with that all the time.” He says there will be many steps needed to get the data from this, but he has “confidence” that they will be able to get data from that too.

Crash investigators ‘will not release manifest’ – National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Todd Inman is giving an update on the plane crash in Washington DC. He begins by thanking emergency responders for their efforts and then goes on to say the board has a Black Hawk certified pilot on staff. “We have brought that member in and they are on scene providing direct technical assistance to the NTSB,” he says. “We have our own Black Hawk certified pilot in the working group for helicopters.”

When it comes to salvage operations, he says barges are en route and “we anticipate them to be on seen early tomorrow morning”.  “After their arrival they will be secured and then significant salvage operations will continue – this will be the main lifting,” he says. He goes on to say there are “two distinct debris fields”. “Based on the initial mapping, there are large chunks that will be easily recoverable,” he adds. He goes on to stress that the NTSB will not be releasing a manifest – list of passenger names.

“It will not be included in our report and we will not be providing any names of the victims,” he adds. “That will come from individuals or groups.” What do we know about the crash? A preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) suggests staffing levels were not normal in the run up to the collision. There is usually one air traffic controller monitoring planes and another monitoring helicopter traffic – but there was only one monitoring both that night.

Here, our US correspondent David Blevins looks at what we know…Wreckage being removed from water More wreckage is being carried out of the Potomac River, our US correspondent David Blevins reports. He says he can see additional salvage equipment and a number of vessels and a police boat. Blevins also notes this “debris will be critical” as investigators attempt to ascertain what caused this catastrophe. Congresswoman ‘completely rejects’ Trump’s DEI comments –

Democratic congresswoman of Washington State, Marilyn Strickland, has said she “completely rejects” the idea suggested by Donald Trump that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies are the cause of the plane crash. Speaking to Sky’s Jonathan Samuels, she said we are in the midst of a national tragedy and Trump’s job is to “lead, show how this will never happen again and show empathy”. “So this idea that DEI caused this is not true,” she said.

“The standards remain high for any person who works in aviation.” She said it was “appalling, shocking and not presidential for Trump to raise this during a tragedy”. “I completely reject this idea that DEI is the cause of anything tragic like this and the idea that people who are hired through DEI are less qualified. “You must always meet the minimum qualification.” ‘We expect to recover all the bodies,’ fire chief says – A news conference has begun and Washington DC fire and emergency medical services chief John Donnelly is giving an update.

He says 41 bodies have been recovered and 28 of those victims have been identified. Additional coastguard teams will be arriving to the crash site soon, he says, and crews are also working along the shoreline down the river as it is expected that debris will have been dragged along by the current. Asked if he believes teams will be able to recover more bodies, he says: “Yes we expect to recover all the bodies.” “We are working as fast as we can,” he says.

Questioned on whether they will need to lift the aircraft out of the water to find the other bodies, he adds: “Yes, I believe for us to recover the rest of the remains, we are going to need to get the fuselage out of the water.” Donnelly says weather can slow down operations slightly but “the weather we have seen so far is weather we can work in”. Audio from Washington plane crash – Audio has emerged featuring communication between the military helicopter and air traffic control before the deadly crash, which left no survivors.

In the clip, a crew member on board the helicopter is told of the proximity of the plane twice and acknowledges it, requesting “visual separation” – an aviation term indicating that they will actively avoid the other aircraft.  However, it is not clear if crew member on the helicopter is referring to the wrong aircraft.

Courtesy: Sky News