The remains of all 67 victims of last week’s midair collision of an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter near the nation’s capital have been recovered, authorities said Tuesday. All but one has been identified. Meanwhile the NTSB said it was examining new data that could put the helicopter above its 200-foot (61-meter) flight ceiling. The airport’s air traffic control screen — relying on radar sensors and other data — had it at 300 feet (91 meters), the agency said. However that figure would have been rounded to the nearest 100 feet, according to authorities. Investigators said they need to get more information from the still-submerged Black Hawk to verify the data. The jet’s flight recorder showed its altitude as 325 feet (99 meters), plus or minus 25 feet. Earlier in the day, crews working in choppy conditions raised a number of large pieces of the jetliner from the Potomac River, including the right wing, the center fuselage and parts of the forward cabin, cockpit, tail cone and rudder. “Our hearts are with the victims’ families as they navigate this tragic loss,” officials said in a joint statement from the city and federal agencies involved in the search and recovery, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Navy dive teams and Washington police and fire crews. The chief medical examiner will be working to positively identify the final set of remains, officials said. The collision occurred last Wednesday night as the plane was about to land at nearby Ronald Reagan National Airport, killing everyone on board both aircraft. Authorities said early on that they expected to recover the remains of everyone who died, and they are now focusing on retrieving the jet and hope to recover the helicopter later this week.<br/>
general
Flying helicopters near Ronald Reagan National Airport always carries some risk. But the conditions on the moonless night of Jan. 29, when an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet collided, were unusually challenging. Many of the factors that contributed to the disaster are still being uncovered as investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board try to reconstruct the collision that killed 67 people. The midair crash, which caused wreckage from both aircraft to tumble into the icy Potomac River below, was the nation’s deadliest aviation accident since 2009. Investigators have said the helicopter was flying about 100 feet higher than authorized in its designated portion of the airspace and are trying to determine why. But interviews with helicopter pilots suggest that the Black Hawk was also dealing with a set of complex flying conditions, some of which are typical for the bustling area around National Airport outside Washington and some of which were unique to the series of events that happened last Wednesday. And the crew was flying an older-model aircraft that lacked certain safety technologies in its cockpit that are commonplace in those of commercial airplanes in the United States. “Given the complexity of everything going on there, it is a higher-risk place to fly,” said Austin Roth, a former Black Hawk instructor for the Army who says he often flew the helicopter routes near National Airport while in service. N.T.S.B. safety investigators have not assessed any blame on the Black Hawk crew, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described as “fairly experienced.” The safety agency said on Tuesday that there was still information that needed to be collected from the helicopter, a process that is expected to begin this week when its wreckage is lifted from the Potomac. Investigators said the two aircraft collided at 300 feet — a detail that has raised questions about how the helicopter got off course, given that it was not authorized to fly higher than 200 feet above ground.<br/>
The FAA said on Tuesday that the agency will continue to attend meetings and engage with airlines on safety issues after an employee told air carriers that officials would not participate.<br/>Airlines were notified on Tuesday by an FAA employee that agency employees would not take part in safety-related committee meetings, including on next-generation air traffic control issues and secondary barriers, according to an email seen by Reuters. "This was an unauthorized communication sent by an employee," an FAA spokesperson said late on Tuesday. "We will make sure that commitment is clear to everyone in the agency." Concerns over missing U.S. aviation expertise at key technical meetings raised alarm among some industry executives at a time when the country is reeling from its deadliest air disaster in more than 20 years, which killed 67 people. Two industry sources told Reuters earlier in the day that FAA experts are not expected at some technical panels being held by the U.N.'s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). For example, it is unclear whether FAA officials will participate in an aircraft noise and emissions meeting later this month with ICAO's multinational Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP). Planemakers and industry executives watch the CAEP group's work, as it discusses potential standards for new aircraft.<br/>
The US air traffic control system has been stretched nearly to its breaking point by a decades-long staffing shortage. It’s causing problems not just for the air traffic controllers that remain but the flying public at large. And it won’t get better any time soon. The FAA, which runs the air traffic system, stepped up the pace of hiring in 2024 under President Joe Biden. But even though 2,000 qualified applicants were hired last year, they might only just barely replace the 1,100 who left the job either through retirement or due to the heavy toll the stressful job takes on those who enter the field. That’s because nearly half of those hired in any given year will wash out of the program before they get to actually control aircraft after about three years from their initial start date. So even with an increase in the pace of hiring, it could take as much as 8 to 9 years to reach full staffing, according to Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union representing 10,800 certified controllers across the nation. He said that 41% of the union’s members are working six days a week, 10 hours a day, just to provide a staffing level that still isn’t adequate. Those 10,800 controllers currently on the job are filling the 14,600 positions needed to meet the current demand. “We’ve been raising the alarm on this for years on end,” Daniels told CNN. “We need air traffic controllers. We need maximum hiring, so that these stresses and pressures can be taken off of us who are holding the system together today. If we’re going to recruit the best and brightest, we have to make this job (one) that people want to do,” he said. Anonymous reports to NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System showed at least 10 submissions by controllers that included concerns about staffing, work schedules or fatigue in the last year alone. <br/>
Photographs released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) show the extent of ground damaged caused by last week’s deadly crash of a Bombardier Learjet 55, and the state of the jet’s recovered cockpit-voice recorder. The investigatory agency on 4 February released the images, one of which shows investigators standing on the edge of a crater created when the air ambulance slammed into pavement at high speed. Another photograph shows the Learjet 55’s smashed cockpit voice recorder, which the NTSB has said it recovered from 8ft below ground level. The jet took off at about 18:06 local time on 31 January from Northeast Philadelphia airport and climbed to about 1,500ft before making a “steep decent” into the ground, NTSB investigator Ralph Hicks said on 1 February. Video posted on social media purportedly shows the jet descending at a steep angle and at high speed before crashing with a large explosion. The aircraft crashed into a “commercial and residential area”, killing six people aboard, said NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy. The six people on the jet have been reported as four crew, a patient and a relative. One person on the ground was also killed. “This was a high-impact crash and the plane is highly fragmented,” said Homendy. “The debris field extends four or five blocks.”<br/>
A 15-year-old boy who brandished a gun and rifle at an airport in Texarkana, Ark., on Tuesday morning and demanded a plane was arrested after a pilot retrieved a firearm from his truck and ordered him to the ground, according to local police. The teen complied and was disarmed by the pilot during a confrontation at Texarkana Regional Airport, the authorities said. Officers from the Texarkana Police Department arrived soon afterward and arrested the youth. “The Texarkana Arkansas Police Department applauds the heroic act by the local pilot,” the agency said in a news release, without naming the pilot. “The fact that this incident was resolved quickly and peacefully, despite the extreme danger presented, is highly commendable.” The minor was carrying a handgun and an AR-style rifle, according to the airport, and was charged with aggravated assault, attempted aggravated robbery and terroristic threatening in the first degree. He was transferred to a juvenile detention center, according to police. The confrontation began just after 7:30 a.m. when the 15-year-old walked into a private facility at the airport run by Signature Aviation that functions as a terminal for jets and other private aircraft. The boy, whose name was not released, placed a gun on the front counter at the terminal, demanded a plane and cocked his rifle, according to Paul Mehrlich, the airport’s director. A staff member told the boy that she would help, then went into a back office and called 9-1-1, Merlich said. Frustrated, the 15-year-old then forcefully pushed open a door leading out to the airfield, Mehrlich said. That’s when the pilot confronted him. Mehrlich applauded the terminal's staff and the pilot for acting calmly to stop the suspect.<br/>
Long-haul travel sentiment for 2025 has weakened, according to the Long-Haul Travel Barometer 1/2025 by the European Travel Commission and Eurail BV. Affordability concerns and shifting preferences influence cautious travel intentions. While 63% of respondents across key markets plan long-haul trips, only 44% aim to visit Europe, down from 49% in 2024. Declines are seen in South Korea, the US, Brazil, and Australia, but interest from Chinese travellers is rising, with 61% planning European visits within twelve months. Affordability remains the most significant barrier to international travel, cited by 46% of respondents not planning a European trip. In addition to affordability, travellers cited interest in visiting other overseas regions or limited vacation time as factors influencing their plans. Miguel Sanz, President of ETC, commented: “The findings highlight the ongoing challenges of maintaining Europe’s competitiveness as a global destination in an increasingly saturated market. To remain a top choice for international travellers, Europe must focus on managing Brand Europe strategically. By tracking consumer trends, promoting more competitive off-season and off-the-beaten-path travel options, and improving sustainable connectivity, Europe can offer richer, more rewarding travel experiences to our visitors”.<br/>
Airline, airport, aerospace, and air traffic control industry groups have called on European Commission (EC) president Ursula von der Leyen to reboot its aviation strategy to emphasize economic growth and competitiveness alongside efforts to decarbonize. In a report published on Tuesday in Brussels, the groups issued new policy recommendations to update the existing report "Destination 2050—A Route to Net Zero European Aviation" with demands for a more proactive and joined-up approach from the newly-appointed Commission. Airlines for Europe (A4E), along with Airports Council International; Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe; air navigation services group CANSO; and the European Regions Airline Association, called on Von der Leyen to implement the recommendations on aviation sustainability and competitiveness presented to her back in September 2024 in a report by former Italian prime minister and European Central Bank president Mario Draghi. Their policy demands reflect a desire to see more effective policy implementation combined with less regulatory burden on the industry in the context of Europe’s stagnant economies.<br/>
Hamad International Airport (HIA) in Qatar has opened Concourse E, the latest addition to its ongoing terminal expansion project. This new concourse is designed to streamline the boarding process, enhance operational efficiency, improve accessibility, and incorporate sustainable features. The expansion introduces an additional 51,000m² to the airport, with eight new contact gates that increase overall gate capacity by 20%. Concourse E boasts “advanced self-boarding technology” that allows passengers to scan their boarding passes for a “smoother travel experience”. The design prioritises accessibility, with features such as hearing loops, ramps, elevators, and spacious seating areas that cater to passengers with disabilities.<br/>
Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation regulator is to lift cabotage restrictions this year, opening the kingdom’s internal private aviation market to international charter operators. The General Authority of Civil Aviation says the restrictions on foreign on-demand charter flights will be removed from 1 May. Its plan is intended to support a development strategy for the business jet sector, through delivery of six dedicated business airports and a further nine terminals. GACA general manager for general aviation Imtiyaz Manzary says the regulator is “unlocking new opportunities” with the cabotage decision. Foreign charter operators will be able to apply for authorisation to operate domestic services, he states, aiding efforts to establish Saudi Arabia as a “general aviation hub”. Manzary adds that GACA is establishing a committee of investors, operators and service providers to address infrastructure and regulatory aspects and underpin its efforts to develop the sector into a $2b industry by the end of the decade.<br/>
Boeing's key supplier Spirit AeroSystems has a substantial inventory of 737 fuselages that are ready to ship, an executive with the planemaker told a Seattle aerospace conference on Tuesday. The planemaker is working to grow production of its 737 MAX jet to at least 38 a month this year after drastically curbing output in 2024 following quality concerns after a mid-air panel blowout on a near-new model. Ihssane Mounir, Boeing senior VP for global supply chain and fabrication, told the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance (PNAA) supplier conference that the quality of the Spirit Aero-produced fuselage has significantly improved. Boeing is aiming to improve quality by minimizing the transfer of work from one supplier to another within its vast supply chain, a shift that Mounir said is the leading cause of quality defects. Boeing is in the process of buying financially-strapped Spirit Aero even as the planemaker tries to revive its battered supply chain after a weeks-long strike last year by its Northwest factory workers halted most jet output. Wichita-based Spirit Aero has increased fuselage production from a rate of 21 a month to 31 a month, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Spirit Aero spokesperson Joe Buccino said the company "remains committed to meeting our customer's production targets."<br/>