NEW YORK, January 31. /TASS/. The female pilot that commanded the Black Hawk helicopter involved in the collision with a jetliner near Washington, DC, had extensive flying experience, with more than 500 hours of flight time, ABC News reported.
Also aboard the aircraft were a crew chief and an instructor pilot, the report said.
"It was a very experienced group," said Jonathan Koziol, a retired Army chief warrant officer.
According to Koziol, the male instructor pilot had more than 1,000 hours of flight time, and the crew chief was also said to have hundreds of hours of flight time. Koziol said that given the short duration of most helicopter flights, the number of hours they had flown showed how experienced they were.
All the three crew members were all killed in the crash.
According to Reuters, the Pentagon on Thursday suspended flights in the unit, from which the helicopter was, for two days. According to the New York Times, the helicopter was near the busy Ronald Reagan Airport because its pilots must train in areas where they will subsequently fly. According to the newspaper, the unit often transports federal government officials around the Washington area.
Daniel Driscoll, who has been tapped by US President Donald Trump to serve as US secretary of the Army, said during a Senate hearing that officials should discuss the appropriate time for training military helicopter crews. Such flights should probably not take place near airports like Ronald Reagan Airport, he said.
An American Airlines passenger jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter collided in midair near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. 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. The bodies of 28 people have been plucked out of the water so far. US authorities said there are likely no survivors.