Pain and heartbreak struck the United States on January 30, when a commercial plane and military helicopter collided in Washington DC, right over the Potomac River. A lighthearted trip for many, turned into disaster around 9:00 PM when a passenger plane carrying 67 passengers, including several coaches and figure skaters, collided with a military helicopter flying hundreds of feet above the standard protocol.
“If this hadn’t happened, you know, maybe me and other people wouldn’t be so scared to travel. When you look at this whole scenario, I would be a little nervous as an adult, student or child to fly because this is the first tragedy in about 20 years that we’ve had this happen,” engineering teacher Ron Rosel said.
In over 16 years an incident this fatal has not occurred. The last major plane crash happened in 2009 when a Continental Airlines flight out of Newark crashed into a home as it was approaching an airport in Buffalo.
Questions have made their way into the media, and they are commonly asking if it is even safe to fly anymore. The chances of things like this happening are very rare, but never zero percent, and that is what is making everybody second guess their travel options.
“The incident led to increased discussions about aviation safety, particularly in relation to winter weather conditions and de-icing procedures, but also the role in federal regulations and working conditions of air traffic controllers. On a broader scale, it reinforced the importance of emergency preparedness and contributed to improvements in airline regulations and response protocols,” history teacher Mike Caldwell said.
In the past week, important news coverage has really shown what it has been like for these families and rescue teams to piece together what exactly happened.
Bodies are still trying to be recovered, and some families are still awaiting the call that their family member has been found. This accident has been more than an eye-opening experience for aviation safety and has also been an opportunity to realize how incidents like this impact a community and nation at large.
“The crash of American Airlines Flight 5342 into the Potomac River was a tragic event that deeply affected the local community and had a significant impact on the nation. In the immediate aftermath, first responders and ordinary citizens displayed remarkable courage in the rescue efforts, highlighting the resilience and unity of the community,” Caldwell said.
