Washington DC crash
Credit: CNN
New footage has captured the moment a passenger plane and military helicopter collided above Washington DC, as Donald Trump suggested the chopper was “flying too high by a lot”.
Two CCTV videos obtained by CNN show the Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines flight colliding in a fireball before both aircraft plunge into the icy Potomac River.
The passenger jet is seen as a bright light in the footage flying towards the camera, at it was coming into land at DC’s Ronald Reagan airport.
The helicopter is seen coming into view from the left-hand side of the footage, seconds before the two lights converge and erupt into a ball of flames.
The wreckage of both plane and helicopter is seen crashing back down to earth and splashing into the dark, icy river.
Military pilots had requested a predetermined flight path, referred to as Route 4, from air traffic control. This allows helicopters to fly at low altitude along the bank on the east side of the Potomac River.
But the helicopter flew higher and further away from the bank than it should have done, four officials told The New York Times.
The helicopter was supposed to be flying below 200ft but had reportedly risen above 300ft when it collided with the commercial airliner.
Responding to the reports in a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump, the US president, wrote: “The Black Hawk helicopter was flying too high, by a lot. It was far above the 200 foot limit.
“That’s not really too complicated to understand, is it???”
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