Photo: Arlington County Sheriff's Office
Two employees of the authority that manages Ronald Reagan International Airport were arrested for allegedly leaking surveillance footage of the deadly midair collision involving an American Airlines passenger jet and a black hawk helicopter to CNN, the New York Post reports.
Mohamed Lamine Mbengue, 21, of Rockville, Maryland, and Jonathan Savoy, 45, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, were charged with computer trespass on Sunday (February 2), for making unauthorized copy of records, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority announced on Monday (February 3). The videos were obtained by CNN last Friday (January 31) and showed the clearest view of the crash.
The footage, which was recorded on cellphones, show the military chopper explode into pieces with large chunks of debris crashing into the Potomac River during the crash that killed 67 people. The first clip shows the helicopter flying at speed over the river with red flashing lights on its tail and body and a green light on its nose entering from the left side of the screen as the plane flies in from the right side.
The two aircrafts collide, resulting in an explosion with the airliner spinning toward the river just before impact and the helicopter falling toward the water with its flashing lights still visible. The second clip, which appears to have been shot from the airport, also shows the airliner attempt to descend toward the airport runway, but from the left side, before colliding with the helicopter above the river.
Mbengue was booked into Arlington County Adult Detention Center and later released while Savoy was issued a summons by the magistrate before his own release, though the airport authority didn't provide additional details. First responders were treating the collision as a rescue mission as officials "don't believe there are any survivors," among the suspected 64 passengers aboard American Airlines Flight 5324 and three soldiers -- all of whom have been identified -- on the Army helicopter, District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief John Donnelly said during a news briefing last Thursday (January 30) morning via CBS News.
