By: Aidan Montoya
In what I’d call one of the worst airplane crashes of a generation, an astounding 67 people were killed in a plane crash on Jan. 29 over the Potomac River in Washington, DC. An American Airlines flight originating out of Wichita, Kansas collided with a mid-air army helicopter, killing everyone on both the plane and helicopter. Plenty of people are asking a lot of questions.
In the air traffic control tower at Reagan National Airport, they were understaffed; reported the Federal Aviation Administration. It was said that one person was watching over both planes and helicopters, with this job usually being a two-person job. Another shocking fact about this story is that the army helicopter flew 200 feet above its regulated height. Some could also wonder why a Black Hawk helicopter was flying at this time of night. Nothing can be known for sure, but one thing can be said: people are feeling uneasy.
Some students on the McPherson campus commented, and most have felt the same. Ethan Mineholes expressed, “I am a little skeptical about the government and why the black hawk was up there,” and that he “never enjoyed flying, and this only worsened my fear.” An event like this only causes tension for the public, and this is a horrible thing to have happened. One can only hope that this catastrophe does not happen again, and all the prayers go out to the families of the victims of this terrible crash.
