Mid-Air Collision Was Preventable: Officials

The night was clear, the plane and helicopter were both in standard flight patterns and there was standard communication between the aircraft and the tower, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.

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"We have early indicators of what happened here," Duffy said, though he declined to elaborate pending an investigation.

It is not unusual to have a military aircraft flying the river and an aircraft landing at the airport, he said. Asked if the plane was aware that there was a helicopter in the area, Duffy said the helicopter was aware that there was a plane in the area.