US President Donald Trump has spoken out about the American Airlines crash that killed everyone aboard the passenger jet and a Black Hawk helicopter saying the army aircraft may have been at fault leading up to the incident.
Mr Trump took to social media to declare the army aircraft was flying too high inside the designated area around the Ronald Reagan International Airport prior to to it’s collision with an American Airlines passenger jet.
Messaging on Truth Social from Mr Trump said the helicopter was above a 200-foot (61-metre) limit on helicopters in the area.
The White House later confirmed the information came from authorities investigating the crash, which claimed the lives of 64 people aboard a passenger plane and three soldiers on the chopper on Wednesday night.
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The collision occurred at an altitude of around 300 feet (91 metres), according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24.
The US Army has now released the names of two of the soldiers: Staff Sergeant Ryan O’Hara, 28, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, 39.
“At the request of the family, the name of the third soldier will not be released at this time,” an army statement said.
The US Federal Aviation Administration is indefinitely restricting helicopter flights near Washington Reagan National Airport after a deadly collision between an American Airlines regional jet and Army Black Hawk killed 67 people.
An FAA official on Friday told Reuters the agency was barring most helicopters from parts of two helicopter routes near the airport and only allowing police and medical helicopters in the area between the airport and nearby bridges.
The US Army on Friday released the names of two of the soldiers killed when the military Black Hawk in which they were flying collided with a passenger jet, but said, in an unusual decision, they were not releasing the third name at the request of the family.
The Army identified two of the soldiers killed in Wednesday’s crash in Washington as Staff Sergeant Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, but did not provide details about the third.
Reuters had reported on Thursday, citing an Army official, 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 said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier on Friday that “when we have updates on the exact individuals who were involved in the collision, including the air traffic controller, also the pilots of the helicopter and others, we will confirm those”.
Trump has suggested, without evidence, the deadly midair collision was the result of the Federal Aviation Administration’s efforts to hire a more diverse workforce.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, while at the White House speaking about the crash on Thursday, also took aim at diversity, equity and inclusion in the military and government.
It is standard procedure for the Pentagon to release names of troops killed 24 hours after family members are notified. That included during US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
There have already been conspiracy theories circulating online about the identity of the soldiers. Viral posts falsely identified Jo Ellis, a transgender pilot with the Virginia National Guard, as one of the crew members of the helicopter.
“There were no Virginia National Guard personnel on board the Black Hawk that collided with the jetliner Wednesday evening,” a Virginia National Guard spokesperson told Reuters.
The helicopter was from the 12th Aviation Battalion, which is based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
The unit is responsible for helicopter flights in the US capital area and can be used to carry senior US government officials.
Trump said on Friday the Army Black Hawk helicopter was flying too high at the time of the accident, in what appeared to be a major disclosure about the investigation.
With AAP.
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