US Secretary Hegseth makes statement on helicopter crash
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, in a statement regarding the military helicopter that collided with a passenger plane in the capital Washington D.C., said, "Was the Black Hawk too high? Was it on the correct route? We don't know exactly right now."
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The accident in the US capital, Washington D.C., yesterday, in which an American Airlines passenger plane collided with an army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, remains a top issue on the agenda.
Following US President Donald Trump's statement that "the Black Hawk helicopter was flying too high," US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth made a statement. Speaking to the US media, Hegseth said that the ongoing investigation would help clarify the cause of the collision.
Noting that there could be depth perception problems around the busy Washington National Airport, Hegseth said, "We are looking at the altitude. Someone was at the wrong altitude. The investigation will help us understand this. Was the Black Hawk too high? Was it on the correct route? We don't know exactly right now."
Noting that the investigation would provide more information, Secretary Hegseth stated, "The helicopter's black boxes have not been found yet."
TRUMP HAD ANNOUNCED THAT THE HELICOPTER WAS FLYING TOO HIGH
In the accident where an American Airlines passenger plane carrying 64 people, including 4 crew members, attempting to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and a Black Hawk-type military helicopter with 3 people on board collided in mid-air and crashed into the Potomac River, the bodies of 67 people were recovered.
In a statement made by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), it was stated that the passenger plane's black boxes had been reached, and the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder had been recovered, adding, "The recording devices are at NTSB laboratories for evaluation."
In the preliminary report of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), it was reported that the number of personnel in the air traffic control tower during the mid-air collision was "not normal." US President Donald Trump, in a post on his Truth Social social media platform, stated that the helicopter was flying too high at the time of the accident, saying, "The Black Hawk helicopter was flying too high, way too high. It was well above the 200-foot limit. It's not that hard to understand."