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.