The deadliest commercial accident in the United States since 2001 has led long-form concerns about busy US airspace into a full-fledged crisis as rescuers continued to retrieve bodies from the frigid Potomac River on Thursday.
Just before 9pm on Wednesday American Airlines The area jet collided with a military helicopter near Washington at Reagan National Airport. The Bombardier CRJ700 Regional Jet, which carried 60 passengers and four crew members, had no survivors in the Army Black Hawk helicopter carrying the three.
A series of close calls at airports in recent years have caused warnings among airlines, regulators and lawmakers. The reason for Wednesday’s fatal conflict is not immediately clear. A complete investigation may take several months, if not less than a year. Officials on Thursday did not condemn air traffic control due to the fatal crash.
One of the most recent incidents that raised concerns, JetBlue Airways The planes that begin takeoff rolls at Reagan National Airport in April came within hundreds of feet Southwest Airlines A flight told to cross the runway.
Despite these close calls, there have been no major fatal commercial plane crashes in US soil since February 2009. Wednesday’s crash fall was the most fatal since November 2001.
View of the Potomac River from Reagan National Airport.
CNBC, Google Earth
“This system is as secure as ever.” Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” Thursday morning.
Airline executives promote continuous management, modernize air traffic control, hire more staff and get crowded in some of the busiest corridors on the main runway at the US Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. It helped to alleviate it.
“This system has literally required modernization for decades,” Jordan said. “There are equipment that date back to the 1960s, and modernising the equipment actually improves airspace management, increases throughput and increases efficiency.”
