Two airport authority workers arrested for allegedly leaking DC plane crash
By David Propper
Two employees of the authority that manages Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were arrested over their alleged involvement in leaking surveillance footage of last week’s deadly midair aircraft collision to CNN.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) staffers are accused of making an unauthorized copy of records and are facing charges of computer trespass, the agency said Monday.
The legal trouble is tied to the chilling video obtained by CNN last week that offered a horrifying new vantage point in the crash over the Potomac River, ABC News reported.
The Wednesday night collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet killed all 67 people on both aircraft.
6
Mohamed Lamine Mbengue was arrested for releasing footage of the DC plane crash, according to officials.
Arlington county sheriff's office
DC plane crash
6
Sixty-seven people were killed when the American Airlines flight collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday.
CNN
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 approaches the airport.
A second short clip shows the Black Hawk, which was carrying three soldiers, and the Bombardier CRJ700 heading toward each other before the two smash together and explode.
Both videos were shot on cellphones, CNN reported Friday.
Explore More
DC plane crash
Black Hawk helicopter was flying too high before DC midair crash with American Airlines flight, NTSB confirms
Flight attendant killed in DC crash wasn’t supposed to be on doomed plane but switched shifts days before: ‘This was not his line’
Bodies of all 67 DC midair plane crash victims recovered from Potomac River
Mohamed Lamine Mbengue, 21, of Rockville, Maryland, was charged Friday and Jonathan Savoy, 45, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was charged 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.
Coast Guard and multiple agencies responding to a helicopter and commercial plane collision near the Ronald Reagan Airport, Washington D.C., January 30, 2025
6
The Wednesday night collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet killed all 67 people on both aircraft.
U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters
U.S. Coast Guard response boat crews enforcing a safety zone around the incident scene of American Eagle Jet and Army Helicopter collision in the Potomac River, Washington, D.C., 2025.
6
The two aircraft crashed Wednesday evening as the airliner was on final approach to Reagan National Airport.
Petty Officer 1st Class Brandon Giles/U S Coast Guard/UPI/Shutterstock
The airport authority did not divulge further details Monday night.
The authority was created by Congress more than 30 years ago and is tasked, in part, with operating Reagan National and Dulles International airports.
Officials began raising the wreckage of the doomed American Airlines flight Monday as most victims’ bodies have been recovered from the icy river.
DC plane crash
6
The CNN video offered a closer look at the horrifying collision.
CNN
A crane retrieving wreckage from the Potomac River following the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
6
A crane retrieves part of the wreckage from the Potomac River on Monday in the aftermath of the collision.
REUTERS
After parts from the plane are taken to shore, the Black Hawk chopper will be recovered.
The military helicopter was carrying Army Capt. Rebecca Lobach, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves and Staff Sgt. Ryan O’Hara while the commercial flight was bringing home more than a dozen people connected to the tight-knit US figure skating world.
Questions remain over how the midair crash could have happened, with a federal investigation ongoing.
Welcome to Billionaire Club Co LLC, your gateway to a brand-new social media experience! Sign up today and dive into over 10,000 fresh daily articles and videos curated just for your enjoyment. Enjoy the ad free experience, unlimited content interactions, and get that coveted blue check verification—all for just $1 a month!
Account Frozen
Your account is frozen. You can still view content but cannot interact with it.
Please go to your settings to update your account status.
Open Profile Settings