Data shows that Captain Jonathan Campos and First Officer Samuel Lilley raced towards the military helicopter at 140 mph in a last-ditch attempt to save everyone on board.
On Wednesday, January 29, at 8:47 p.m. ET, a Black Hawk helicopter carrying three US soldiers on a training trip crashed with an American Airlines-owned PSA Airlines aircraft.
When the mid-air collision occurred, Flight 5342, which was traveling from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington, DC, with 60 passengers and four crew members, was on its way to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
The debris of the jet and the helicopter fell into the Potomac River, making it the deadliest plane disaster since 2001 and the first significant aviation mishap in the United States in sixteen years. Despite the efforts of 300 first responders to help, no survivors were found.
In the closing seconds before the accident, 34-year-old pilot Campos and his 28-year-old co-pilot Lilley tried to elevate the aircraft, according to data from the aircraft’s black box.
“There was a slight change in pitch, an increase in pitch, at one point very close to the impact,” National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) spokesperson Todd Inman stated during a news conference on Saturday, February 1.
Additionally, according to the safety board, the control tower’s report of the plane’s height at the time of the accident did not match the first data from the aircraft’s flight recorder (via CNN).
The flight recorder revealed the helicopter’s height at about 325 feet at the time of the accident, although the control tower recorded it at 200 feet.
Although investigations are still underway, if the crash did occur at 325 feet, it would have indicated that the helicopter had risen above the 200-foot maximum altitude at which helicopters are permitted to fly in the area.
Iman went on to say that they do not have the helicopter’s data. “Clearly, an impact happened, and I would say that when an impact happens, that’s usually where both aircraft were at the time.”
Campos spoke with his uncle on the phone before the collision.
As he boarded the plane, his uncle John Lane told the MailOnline that he spoke with his nephew “for ten minutes” and that he “sounded really happy.”
“It’s unbelievable,” he said. He sounded rather happy. The next week, he was looking forward to a cruise on the cruise liner Icon of the Seas.
Ten family members were planned to go to Florida to join him on the trip. There was to be a big celebration.
American Airlines released the following statement in reaction to the incident:
“While flying from Wichita, Kansas (ICT) to Washington, D.C. (DCA), American Eagle Flight 5342 was involved in an accident at DCA.” The trip was operated by PSA Airlines using a CRJ-700.
Sixty passengers and four crew members were on board. We are concerned about the plane’s passengers and crew. We are assisting with emergency response efforts and coordinating with law police.
