Flight recorder information has been recovered from the two aircraft that collided outside Washington DC’s Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night.
That’s part of the investigation now being led by the National Transportation Safety Board. NTSB says it located the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder Thursday from the American Airlines jet departing from Wichita. The flight data recorder was in good shape, while the voice recorder had some water inside, but NTSB investigators believe they can get data from both pieces of equipment.
The combined cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the US Army Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the jet was recovered Friday and is apparently in good condition.
Meanwhile, the air traffic controller working at the time of Wednesday night’s crash was interviewed Friday. Reports have that controller doing the work of two controllers at the time of the crash.
“Significant” salvage operations are expected Saturday.
NTSB expects its preliminary report within a month. Its final report may take a year to finish.
Nearly 70 people died in the crash.
Meanwhile, NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration are now looking into the crash of a small medical transport plane in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
The jet, operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, crashed near an outdoor shopping mall and erupted into flames. Six people, including a child, her mother and four crew members, were traveling from Pennsylvania to Springfield, Missouri. Shriner’s Children’s Hospital Philadelphia says the child had received care at its facility and was returning to Mexico on a contracted air ambulance.
There is no official word on casualties.
ABC News will have details from both investigations.
