Two Airport Authority Workers Arrested For Leaking Video Of Washington DC Mid-Air Collision

Last Updated:February 04, 2025, 08:14 IST

At least 67 people were killed, including 3 soldiers, as an American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and both aircraft crashed in the Potomac River in Washington.

A leaked footage offered a closer look at the horrifying collision that killed 67 people. (Photo: X)

Two employees of the authority that manages the Ronald Reagan Washington Airport have been arrested for allegedly leaking surveillance footage of the deadly mid-air aircraft collision that killed more than 60 people last week to CNN.

An American Airlines flight arriving at Reagan Airport in Washington collided with a helicopter, after which both the aircraft crashed into the Potomac River. The American Airlines Flight 5342 was carrying 64 people, while the military Blackhawk helicopter was carrying three soldiers.

The deadly mid-air crash shocked the US and triggered a debate on the role of the military chopper in the collision. A chilling new footage was obtained by CNN that offered a new vantage point showing the crash over the Potomac River, according to the New York Post.

Why The Workers Were Arrested?

The exclusive videos gave a closer and clearer look at the air disaster, including one clip in which the chopper is darting from the left side of the screen as the American Airlines flight approached the airport. A second short clip shows the Black Hawk, which was carrying three soldiers, and the Bombardier CRJ700 steaming toward each other before the two smash into each other and explode.

According to CNN, both videos were shot on cell phones. Two Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) staffers have been accused of making an unauthorised copy of records and are facing charges of computer trespass, the agency said on Monday.

The two workers have been identified as Mohamed Lamine Mbengue, 21, and Jonathan Savoy, 45, both hailing from Maryland. Mbengue was charged on Friday and Savoy was charged on Sunday, the MWAA said in an email.

Mbengue was booked into Arlington County Adult Detention Center and later released while Savoy was issued a summons by the magistrate and cut loose. No further details were given by the authority.

Meanwhile, authorities have recovered most of the bodies of the 67 people from the Potomac River. Officials began pulling the wreckage of the plane, after which they will start recovering the Black Hawk chopper.

Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

News world Two Airport Authority Workers Arrested For Leaking Video Of Washington DC Mid-Air Collision