It has been over two weeks since a tragic incident occurred when a helicopter and an airplane collided over Washington, resulting in the loss of 67 lives. Investigators have now finished their examination at the site where both aircraft plunged into the Potomac River. This incident marks the deadliest air disaster in the United States since 2001.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) presented a comprehensive timeline on Friday outlining the sequence of events that led to the collision. Nevertheless, there remain several uncertainties and unanswered questions surrounding the tragedy.
President Donald Trump publicly criticized the helicopter involved, indicating that it was flying above its designated altitude limit of 200 feet (61 meters). However, the NTSB clarified on Friday that the helicopter was actually flying at 278 feet (85 meters), raising doubts about whether the pilots were aware of this deviation. President Trump also pointed fingers at federal initiatives promoting diversity and inclusion, especially in relation to air traffic controllers. Despite facing inquiries from the press, he failed to substantiate these assertions. Shortly after, Trump shifted the blame to what he deemed an “outdated” air traffic control system.
Investigators are looking closely at whether the helicopter’s pilots had inaccurate information about its altitude and how their vision would have been affected by their night vision goggles.
Here’s a look at the timeline of events before the crash and in the days afterward:
Jan. 29
At around 8:15 p.m. American Airlines Flight 5342, with 64 people on board, begins its initial descent into Reagan National.
At 8:43, from the airport’s tower, a controller asks the plane’s pilots to switch from landing on Runway 1 to Runway 33. Nearby an Army Black Hawk helicopter, referred to as PAT25 by air traffic control, is flying south over the River. The skies are clear.
As the helicopter is approaching the airport, the cockpit voice recorder captures the pilot saying it is flying at 300 feet (91 meters) and the instructor pilot says it is at 400 feet (122 meters). The discrepancy isn’t explained and the helicopter continues to descend. The ceiling for the helicopter flight gets progressively lower as it approaches the airport.
At 8:46, the controller radios the Black Hawk crew to say a passenger jet, referred to as CRJ, is at 1,200 feet (365 meters) and circling to Runway 33. The helicopter’s pilots say they see the jet and ask for permission to maintain visual separation — allowing it to fly closer than otherwise may have been allowed if the pilots didn’t see the plane. Controllers approve the request.
At 8:47 — 20 seconds before impact — the controller again radios: “PAT25, do you have the CRJ in sight?” while a conflict alarm sounds in the background. Then, again: “PAT25, pass behind the CRJ.” But the NTSB said the helicopter’s recorder shows the pilots may never have heard that instruction.
One second later the plane’s crew gets an alert from their collision avoidance system declaring “Traffic! Traffic!”
A few seconds after that, a crewmember on the helicopter replies that the aircraft “is in sight” and again requests “visual separation” with the incoming plane.
Just after the plane descends past its last recorded altitude of 313 feet (95 meters), the pilots pull up the nose of the plane sharply in an evasive maneuver one second before impact.
Then a commotion is heard on the tower audio. A flash appears in the sky, and both aircraft fall into the river. Moments later someone says over the radio, “Tower, did you see that?”
In the ensuing hours, helicopters and inflatable boats light up the Potomac in search of survivors.
Jan. 30
In the morning Trump tells reporters there are no survivors and says it is unclear what led to the collision.
The names of those on both flights begin to emerge online, appearing in Facebook eulogies or statements from grieving families.
By midday the bodies of all three soldiers in the helicopter have been recovered.
About 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) downriver from the crash site, Dean Naujoks, who patrols the Potomac for the Waterkeeper Alliance, finds pages from the flight manual, a piece of the plane’s cabin wall and dozens of sugar packets stamped with the American Airlines logo. He turns the items over to the FBI.
In the evening the airplane’s cockpit voice and flight data recorders are recovered and sent to labs for evaluation.
Jan. 31
It is raining as police boats comb the Potomac for victims and investigators search for clues as to what happened.
Officials announce that the Black Hawk’s black box has recovered and the flight data is being reviewed, along with the actions of the military pilot and air traffic control.
Over 300 responders are on the scene throughout the day, including dive teams. By the afternoon the remains of 41 people have been pulled recovered.
The Army releases the names of two of the dead soldiers: Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia, the crew chief; and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland.
Feb. 1
The rain clears. A Coast Guard cutter outfitted with a crane waits nearby as recovery team members slip into the chilly water to continue the search.
At a news conference, investigators say they are trying to work out a discrepancy in the altitude data between the helicopter and the airliner.
Investigators say they hope the helicopter’s black box can help reconcile difference. The box is waterlogged, delaying retrieval of its data.
The Army identifies the third soldier who died in the helicopter: Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach. She is described by friends as “brilliant and fearless.”
Feb. 2
Officials say the number of victims whose remains have been recovered has risen to 55 and they are confident the rest will be found.
As the search continues, salvage crews prepare to lift wreckage from the Potomac.
Col. Francis B. Pera of the Army Corps of Engineers says divers and salvage workers are adhering to strict protocols and will stop moving debris if a body is found.
The “dignified recovery” of remains takes precedence over all else, he says.
Feb. 3
Salvage crews recover an engine and large pieces of fuselage of the airliner and work to retrieve a wing.
Portions of the helicopter and plane that were pulled from the water are loaded onto flatbed trucks and taken to a hangar for investigation.
Families of the victims gather on the banks of the Potomac.
Feb. 4
Early on in the day, crews working in choppy conditions raise a number of large pieces of the jetliner including the right wing, the center fuselage and parts of the forward cabin, cockpit, tail cone and rudder.
Investigators announce that they are examining new data that could shed light on the altitude discrepancy.
Authorities say the remains of all 67 victims of the collision have been recovered and all but one have been identified.
Feb. 5
One of the first memorial services is held for one of the victims of the crash. A flight attendant who died is remembered at the service in North Carolina as a loving father, stepfather, husband, brother and uncle who loved the career that afforded him the opportunity to connect with people and explore the world.
Organizers announce plans for a figure skating tribute that will take place in Washington, D.C., in early March. Many of the crash victims had just been to a development camp after the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas.
Authorities say they have identified all of the victims and the medical examiner is working to return the remains to families.
Feb. 6
Salvage crews finish removing all major components of the helicopter and jet from the river. The wreckage is trucked to a secure hanger where NTSB investigators can examine it for clues.
Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz says NTSB officials in a briefing told senators that the helicopter’s Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) — an aviation surveillance technology that transmits aircraft location and other data to air traffic control and other aircraft — was off. He questions why it was turned off.
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