But even before the National Transportation Safety Board completes its investigation—a neurotically thorough process that will probably take about a year, and thus meshes poorly with the news cycle and the conspiracy-theorist cycle—it is easy to see some of the lines of inquiry that crash detectives will pursue.

There are likely no survivors after an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter crashed midair near Washington, D.C, Wednesday evening, officials have said.Flight 5342 from Kansas was on the final approach to Ronald Reagan National Airport when it collided with the Black Hawk helicopter before exploding a huge fireball.

The Army identifiies two soldiers aboard the Black Hawk that collided midair with American Airlines plane on Wednesday. Third soldier's ID being held.

When aircraft volume goes down, a supervisor can make the decision to combine two controller positions into one position, which happens routinely, according to a source with direct knowledge.

"Obviously, that will be fluid," John Potter, President and CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, said at a press conference early Thursday morning.Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.

God forbid waking up and looking in a mirror one day and say, ‘Wow, I was warned. I was warned and I shouldn’t have done this,’” Kaine said in 2024.