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i love seeing them come back and join the engagement teams and seeing where they go from there, i get to watch their personal growth, it makes my heart happy. (laughs) announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news" ♪ anchor: live from washington, ♪ this is world news america. an investigation is underway after the deadliest plane crash in the u.s. in over 20 years just across the river from the nation's capital. >> we are here to assure the american people that we are going to leave no stone unturned in this investigation.

we are going to conduct a thorough investigation of this entire tragedy. looking at the facts. anchor: 67 people died when a passenger plane collided with a military helicopter on wednesday night. this is the scene currently as recovery efforts continue along the potomac river. ♪ hello. you are very welcome. we are here at the ronald reagan national airport where an investigation is underway after that deadly plane crash midair collision between a commercial passenger aircraft and a military helicopter. both crashed into the potomac river just outside the nation's capital, killing 67 people. 64 were on the american airlines

plane and three on the u.s. army helicopter. there were no survivors. the american airlines flight was on its final descent into the airport after flying from wichita, kansas, last night just before 9:00 p.m. it collided with a u.s. army black hawk helicopter. this was the deadliest air accidents in the u.s. in over 20 years, the first since 2009. while it is not clear what caused the incident at this point, the new york times is reporting that staffing at the air traffic control tower at the airport was not a normal for that time of day and the volume of traffic. one worker was managing the helicopters and airplanes, a job normally done by two people at that time of day. that is according to our u.s. media partners, cbs news. the ntsb has yet to recover the black boxes from either the

airplane of the helicopter but it says they do know where it is. the chairwoman opened a news conference earlier, saying that the board would not get into specific facts at this time. she focused on details of how the investigation would unfold. she said it would be an entire government effort and no stone would be left unturned. both the chairwoman and a board member said they would not speculate on the cause at this time but that a preliminary report would be published in 30 days time, followed by a more comprehensive report when the work is completed. he became emotional speaking about the victims. >> later today, we will be briefing the families. we normally try to do this before a media event but in this case they are still arriving. our family assistance specialists are already working closely with local officials and others to help assist them in

their effort to support everybody was affected by this accident. let me just to reiterate what the chairs said. the loss of life in an aviation accident is very unusual in the u.s. our heartfelt sorrow goes out to everyone effective. it affects us and affects everyone around us. we will help find out what happened. we will do it factually and accurately. anchor: the secretary of defense , the man newly in charge of the pentagon and the department of defense, spoke about the victims who had been in the black hawk military helicopter and about their training. >> the three service members, the three soldiers, a young captain, a staff sergeant, and a chief warrant officer. it was an annual retraining in a standard corridor for the continuity of government mission.

the military does dangerous things and routine things on a regular basis. tragically last night, a mistake was made. anchor: i witnesses say everything about the plane's approach into the airport appeared to be normal. so just what do we know about the events that led up to the midair collision? how did those events unfold? we have been taking a look back. reporter: these are the moments before a military helicopter collided with and american airlines plane. this live feed from the kennedy center shows the skyline of washington. on the right is the passenger plane, finishing a two hour flight from kansas. on board, 64 people, including figure skaters returning from competition. on the left, a military helicopter with three people on board. and here is another passenger plane. it is very common for planes and helicopters to share air space.

nothing out of the ordinary happened in the run-up to the crash. but there were at least to their mrs. of the airport last year alone. watch as both an closer together over about a minute. this is the flight path. on the helicopter coming from the top, the plane arriving from the bottom. it is 8:47 p.m. local time, about 25 seconds before impact. we also have air traffic control audio that has been published online. as the aircraft gets closer, we can your a conversation. it appears to be the air traffic controller flagging the presence of the plane. this response appears to be from the helicopter and knowledge enough the plane is there. there is a second recording from air control. the audio is less clear but it

sounds like the helicopter is told to pass behind the plane. >> this could have been a situational awareness issue. the pilots of the black hawk may not have seen it. because it was coming into their peripheral vision. >> they get closer to each other and then this happens. the passenger plane is on a steady ascent for landing. this is the aftermath. anchor: list talk a little bit more about the events that led up to this collision.

for people who are not familiar with reagan airport, it is a completely busy airport. coupled with that, you have military bases. you have the president just across the river. how does that all play together? is it generally say for these aircraft to be in the same airspace? >> they both operate under the same procedures. they use the same phraseology. therefore it is both safe and easy for them to operate in that same airspace. this area is very complex. it makes it a challenge for both pilots and controllers to

operate. anchor: talk to us a little bit about how air traffic controllers do that. how the air traffic is managed, keeping it all moving when it is so congested for most of the day. >> at washington national, it is a challenge. in this case you have a single runway. that makes it more difficult. it is a constant choreographed ballet of how to get an aircraft on the runway.

that is given to a teamwork. they work together. anchor: both the new york times and cbs news are reporting that the staffing level at the control tower was not normal for this time of day. we know there are staff shortages across the board. >> i think it is concerning.

during those times, people can be hired and trained. that results in staffing shortfalls. they have embarked upon an extensive hiring program. it is not unique for washington national. they are working to say the same problem. -- solve the same problem. anchor: you mentioned those big recruitment drives for air traffic controllers. what has the uptake been like in this? do they feel like their job is respected? clearly it is very stressful.

>> the workforce recognizes when there is a shortfall. they would look at this and say why was is not recognized in action taken years ago? one of the things that is happening is we are helping the faa bridge that staffing gap. this drastically cuts down the recruitment and hiring time. as shortness of training time for the workforce. anchor: thank you for joining us

here on bbc news. at the white house, donald trump has also been speaking about this tragedy. in a news conference earlier, he held a moment of silence for the crash victims. he also placed blame on former president's and claims without evidence that diversity programs at the faa had contributed to the crash. he later signed an executive order directing the faa to assess damage from the d.e.i. programs. here's what he said to reporters at the time. >> incompetence might have played a role. we will let you know about that.

we do not care what race they are. >> people have lost their lives. if you are not confident that d.e.i. had any role, why bring it up? >> all i am talking about is competence. we have to have the most confident people in our country. we are talkithe helicopter was t same level as the airplane. the helicopters should have been 1000 feet or 500 feet above it. or something below it. the plane could not be stopped. it was on a schedule. it was along the track.

it was going down and landing. the helicopter got in its way. if the helicopter was higher or lower or stopped or turning left or right at a quicker time. it turned when it is too late. it is a tragic story. i thought they should have seen it. anchor: president trump also said he was appointing a senior official to be the acting administrator. the previous administrator stepped down early.

she is a pilot himself. thank you for being with us. where will be the key starting point for investigators? >> it is all about evidence. the ntsb will be commencing recovery of the wreckage of the aircraft. they will be looking to gather evidence from sources.

they will be putting all of that together. anchor: in terms of the specifics of this case, obviously there was a midair collision. does that make it more difficult? >> obviously they will have to recover the wreckage and locate the black boxes under this freezing cold water. the river has some flow to it as well. those operations will be pretty tricky.

anchor: when you have the u.s. military running their own investigation, will that complicate matters. >> the lead investigation will be conducted by the ntsb. it will be a joint collaboration. the ntsb will have representatives from the aircraft manufacturers, the air traffic controllers, a lot of different parties coming together. anchor: when you look at what we know, that is very little other than the videos, what might've

led up to this incident happening? >> it really is one where we have to wait for the ntsb to make their preliminary findings. in terms of what is publicly available. as far as voice communications. it seems based on that that both aircraft were operating pretty much normally. it was a regular situation up until the collision occurred. it seems that the helicopter had stated that they have the jet insight.

that has gone wrong. the angle of approach may not have allow them to see the landing lights. the washington city lights would have confuse matters. they may have lost sight of the aircraft after they initially gained it. the other thing to consider is on the route they were flying, they should have been operating below 200 feet. anchor: as you say, we will await the investigation being led by the ntsb.

thank you for joining us. let's turn our attentions to the middle east now. eight more hostages have been released by hamas under the gaza cease-fire deal. three of them israeli and five of them thai nationals. there are still 82 captives in gaza around whom 45 are thought to be still alive. they welcome to the release of more than 100 palestinians from israeli prisons. after an initial delay following what israeli officials called unacceptable and chaotic scenes at the handover of hostages in southern gaza. benjamin netanyahu called them shocking. >> we will not accept any violation of the agreement. during the release of our hostages today, we witnessed a shocking scene spirit told mediators we are not able to

accept any risks to our hostages. anyone who dares to harm our hostages will pay the price. reporter: released from captivity into chaos. two israelis, there handover delayed today. hostages to the surging crowd. an 80-year-old, his face contorted in pain, dependent on his captors for protection. a 29-year-old lost in the crush of gunmen and cameras. released along with five thai farmworkers. after 15 months in captivity, they short walk to freedom brutally public. painfully long. >> put your hands together, you are defeated today.

you are defeated. reporter: in a refugee camp, a separate ceremony for kidnapped soldiers. highly controlled and choreographed. jibes at israeli military units hung on the stage. the rubble draped in palestinian flags. back home in israel, childhood friends watched her appear. >> it felt like something was missing. inside of us. because she is really a good friend of ours. she is one of the group. she was not here. reporter: an exchange, israel released 110 palestinian prisoners, among them dozens of teenagers, some 15 years old. and the former head of an armed palestinian group in the

occupied west bank. reunions here seen by many as a triumph for hamas. seen in israel as the pipe -- price paid to get hostages home. anchor: the israeli ban on the main u.n. agency acting to help palestinian refugees starts today with fresh warnings that it could undermine critical a delivery to the area in gaza. hamas says a delay may affect the further release of hostages. israeli officials have not spelled out how the legislation will be enforced. the united nations relief and works agency support some 6 million palestinians across the middle east. already israel has awarded it to close schools and clinics serving tens of thousands of

people in east jerusalem. a united nations spokesperson for the agency says it will continue to deliver assistance and services in the gaza strip, the west bank, and east jerusalem beside the deadline. >> we will continue to do the work until we no longer can. there are no instructions or directives for us not to work in close cooperation with other united nations agencies. they are part of the humanitarian system. anchor: a coalition of congolese rebel groups which has captured the eastern city of -- has threatened to continue in six cents -- offensive all the way to the capital. they were speaking at the first news conference since taking control the city. they promise to restore services. many people have been displaced by years of fighting.

they are reported to now have advanced into a neighboring province. you are watching bbc news world news america coming to you live from washington from the ronald reagan national airport. we have plenty more still to come on this tragedy, the investigation, and the key recovery effort that is still undergoing in the potomac effort -- announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ announcer: "usa today" calls it, "arguably the best bargain in streaming." that's because the free pbs app lets you watch the best of pbs anytime, anywhere.

amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: i'm geoff bennett. on the news tonight, a passenger hour jet collides with a military helicopter near washington, d.c., leaving no survivors. the recovery effort and the search for answers. >> i understand how critical our national security is -- >> apparently you don't.