&Quot;Flight 5342&Quot;

Did the Black Hawk helicopter involved in the fatal plane crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29, 2025, have a senior military official on board? No, that's not true: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that the helicopter involved in the collision over the Potomac River was conducting annual retraining for a "Continuity of Government" mission that would…

Did a Black Hawk helicopter fail to respond to warnings seconds before colliding with a civilian airliner that was preparing to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29, 2025? No, that's not true: Air traffic control audio archives show the helicopter crew acknowledged two advisories from air traffic controllers to avoid the oncoming aircraft. Transportation Secretary Sean…

Did President Donald Trump fire 3,000 air traffic controllers one week before the fatal American Airlines Flight 5342 collision with a military helicopter? No, that's not true: A White House spokesperson told Lead Stories they had not fired any air traffic controllers as of publication date. Trump did direct the head of the Federal Aviation Administration to end "DEI hiring…

Does flight path data on a map prove that Flight 5342 suddenly reversed direction before fatally crashing into the Potomac River? No, that's not true: The reversal shown in a clip streamed by global flight tracking service Flightradar24 was due to a "jump" in data. That was caused by the program switching between data sources, a company spokesperson told Lead…

Does an authentic photo show firefighters standing on a plane floating in a river while surrounded by boats and cars after a January 2025 plane crash in Washington? No, that's not true: A specialized detection tool showed the image was generated using artificial intelligence. Several details in the image, like cars sitting on top of the water and missing engines…

Was the military helicopter involved in the plane crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29, 2025, "flying dark," as it was supposed to be broadcasting with an ADS-B transponder signal? No, that's not true: While the Black Hawk helicopter was not using ADS-B, it was still operating properly within the airspace, according to flight data and to…

American Airlines reported a Bombardier CRJ700 plane flying under their regional airline brand American Eagle was involved in an accident over the Potomac river while approaching Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 p.m. local time. Accoring to the FAA the plane collided with an Army UH-60 helicopter with three crewmembers on board. The statement from American Airlines read: American Eagle…