MOSCOW, January 30. /TASS/. The midair collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter over Washington D.C. was probably caused by a major error by the helicopter crew, military expert Alexander Stepanov, Program Director of the Academy of Political Science and senior researcher with the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Latin American Studies, told TASS.
Earlier, the United States Federal Aviation Administration reported the crash of a Bombardier CRJ700 passenger plane and a Black Hawk military helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
"What happened points either to a very serious technical issue related to air safety or a significant error by the crew of the Black Hawk military helicopter, which was performing some inexplicable maneuvers as part of training. There are various possible causes. As far as I know, the FBI has so far only ruled out the scenario of a terrorist attack," Stepanov noted.
The expert emphasized that US civilian airports operate under strict airspace security measures, with highly synchronized flight paths to prevent any close calls in the air. He also noted that, following the September 11, 2001 attacks, rigorous airspace security and navigation protocols were implemented for commercial aviation.
"Most likely, it was a tragic accident; still, it’s highly likely that investigators will conclude that it was a human error - a pilot error made by the military helicopter’s crew. Obviously, the civilian aircraft was flying on a pre-approved path and was being guided by an air traffic controller," Stepanov added.
Washington air crash
The American Airlines flight, en route from Wichita, Kansas, was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members. There were at least three service members aboard the helicopter. Upon the collision, both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River. A search and rescue operation is underway at the crash site. According to media reports, over 30 bodies have been recovered from the river. The Wichita Eagle newspaper reported that members of the US junior figure skating team were aboard the plane. A source told TASS that Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the world championships in pairs figure skating for Russia in 1994, were also among the flight’s passengers.
CBS News noted earlier that the last major American Airlines crash occurred in November 2001 near John F. Kennedy International Airport. The crash, which occurred shortly after takeoff, killed 265.