It has been nearly a week since a commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter collided in midair near Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport, killing 67 people in the deadliest U.
Even as salvage crews continue to haul the wreckage out of the Potomac River, investigators are seeking answers about what happened. From the minutes before the crash to the ensuing days of questions, here is a look at the timeline of events:. At around p.
American Airlines Flight , with 64 people on board, begins its initial descent into Reagan National. At , from the airport's tower, a controller asks the plane's pilots to switch from landing on Runway 1 to Runway The skies are clear.
At , the controller radios the Black Hawk crew to say a passenger jet, referred to as CRJ, is at 1, feet meters and circling to Runway A crewmember on the helicopter replies that the aircraft ''is in sight'' and requests ''visual separation'' with the incoming plane -- allowing it to fly closer than otherwise may have been allowed if the pilots didn't see the plane.
Controllers approve the request. About 20 seconds later a commotion is heard on the audio. A flash appears in the sky, and both aircraft fall into the river. Moments later someone says over the radio, ''Tower, did you see that?
