On Wednesday night in the US, a passenger plane and a US Army helicopter crashed near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. They fell into the Potomac River.
There were 60 passengers, including some famous figure skaters, and 4 crew members on American Airlines flight AA5342 from Wichita, Kansas. Three soldiers were in the helicopter, which was flying for training. Sadly, no one survived from either aircraft.
This incident happened just over a month after a plane crashed in South Korea due to a bird strike, which killed most passengers. Both crashes raised concerns about safety in flying.
A system called TCAS helps pilots avoid crashes. It works by checking for other aircraft nearby. If there is a risk of a crash, it alerts the pilots. However, this system does not work well at low altitudes, like during this tragic accident.
Vocabulary List:
- Incident /ˈɪn.sɪ.dənt/ (noun): An event or occurrence often unexpected or unusual.
- Helicopter /ˈhɛlɪˌkɒptər/ (noun): A type of aircraft that is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors.
- Passengers /ˈpæsɪndʒərz/ (noun): Persons traveling in a vehicle train ship or aircraft.
- Survived /sərˈvaɪvd/ (verb): Continued to live or exist especially after a dangerous event.
- Concerns /kənˈsɜrnz/ (noun): Worries or anxieties about a particular issue.
- Tragic /ˈtrædʒɪk/ (adjective): Causing or characterized by extreme distress or sorrow.
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