NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Friday, January 31, 2025

Episode Date: February 1, 2025

More victims recovered after deadly midair collision; Air traffic control staffing a key issue after deadly midair crash; Heartbreak over lives lost in the deadly midair crash; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, new details about those critical black boxes. The NTSB confident they will gather data from them as questions mount over air traffic control staffing. What we're learning about the moments before the deadly accident. The supervisor allowing an air traffic controller to leave early with just one left on duty. Chopper flights near the airport now restricted and the close call involving similar aircraft just a day before. Plus, the FAA struggling with air traffic controller recruitment. The head of the union, stark warning. It's a 30-year low in air traffic control staffing. The lives lost, the young skaters and their parents, and what we're learning about the pilots involved.

Breaking news in northeast Philadelphia tonight, a fiery scene engulfing the streets following a jet crash there. Is it the start of a new trade war? President Trump set to impose 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada, 10 percent on China, what it could mean for the price you pay. And Andrea Mitchell in Panama as Marco Rubio makes his first trip as Secretary of State there after President Trump threatened to take control of the canal. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening once again from Washington, where the NTSB has just released an update on its

investigation into Wednesday night's deadly midair collision near Reagan National Airport. The lead investigators saying investigators have already started interviewing air traffic controllers who were on duty at the time of the crash. This after days of outside speculation as to whether there was proper control tower staffing at the time of the accident. Officials also revealing they now have all the black boxes from the stricken airliner and the Army Blackhawk helicopter and are hopeful they will provide solid and critical data. Also today, the FAA moving ahead of the investigation and is now restricting helicopter flight corridors within D.C. National's

airspace. Sixty seven people in total died in the crash and recovery of victims continue today, albeit slowly as teams await the arrival of heavy duty barge equipment. Let's start tonight with Tom Costello. With thick fog hanging over the Potomac River, the black boxes from the regional jet and the Blackhawk helicopter are now at the NTSB lab in D.C. for a complete readout. We have a high level of confidence that we will be able to get a full download in the very near future. On the river, divers spent the day working to recover more victims' remains. The D.C. fire chief says as of this morning, 41 bodies have been recovered, 28 of them positively identified. With victims still in the water, a salvage team will soon work to raise the fuselage. For us to recover the rest of the remains that we are going to need to get the

fuselage out of the water. On any given day, some 100 helicopters fly in and around Reagan Airport airspace, many of them military flights. Today, the FAA announced it is restricting helicopter traffic around the airport to all the police and medevac flights. New video, which first aired on CNN, offers a more clear view of the crash. Today, President Trump again said the chopper was flying too high. It was above the 200 limit by double. It shouldn't have been there. Investigative sources tell NBC News the chopper may have been flying at 350 to 400 feet when it crashed into the plane. You have to be 200 feet and below. That's because landing traffic is coming literally over the top of you. Retired Marine Colonel John Silligoy spent decades flying choppers in and around D.C. airspace and says the Black Hawk was clearly flying out of its zone.

And he says air traffic controllers should have been much more direct in their commands to the chopper pilot. You have to be very specific and then directive in this case. He might have made a call like, Pat 25, turn left 90 degrees immediately, or Pat 25, turn right 90 degrees. He didn't do that. The day before the crash, another regional jet aborted its landing, also at Reagan National, after receiving a cockpit warning of helicopter traffic. So, 4514 is going around. We're turning around to 250. What was the reason for the go around?

We had an RA with the helicopter traffic below us. Freak out 4514. On Wednesday, just a single controller was handling both helicopter and plane traffic after a supervisor allowed one controller to leave early. For years, the airport has struggled with understaffing in the tower, and TSB investigators will interview controllers about Wednesday's crash and air traffic volume at DCA. Our job is to just come out with the probable cause, but then more importantly, make recommendations so that this type of tragedy never occurs again. And Tom, when are we going to find out what they have learned from those planes' black boxes?

Yeah, the NTSB hopes to get a readout tomorrow, but it is now saying it will probably not share that information publicly, at least not right away, Lester. All right, Tom Costello, thanks. Moments ago, I spoke with one of the board members of the NTSB at the front of this investigation and asked out about who was working on the control tower that night. What we need to find out is did the controllers that were working then have the right backgrounds, the right information, and the ability to do their job correctly. NTSB board member Todd Inman says the agency is looking into whether staffing in the control tower may have played a role in Wednesday night's tragedy. Have you spoken to the controllers who were on duty that day? And can you describe the general conversations?

Yes, we have spoken to one of the controllers that was actively working on the day of the incident. I can't describe the actual nature of the conversation just yet, but I can say this. We're getting very good cooperation. Air traffic control staffing has been a problem for the FAA for years, and it's thousands of controllers short of staffing goals. The amount of fatigue. Nick Daniels is president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. Can you tell me in general, with controllers now being a prominent part of this, how your workers are feeling and doing? Well, air traffic controllers across the country are devastated.

This is life changing for the controllers that were working that day. But we know the responsibility of the American public or any person that steps on an aircraft. They're our responsibility. They're in great hands, but we know the gravity. This is one of those times that we all have to take another look, a deep breath, and go back to work. A lot of the conversation has to do with controller staffing at this and other towers around the country. How much of an issue do you see that to be right now? It's a very large issue. It's a 30-year low in air traffic control staffing. The FAA obviously has standards as to what the staffing level can be at any given time. Are those largely adhered to?

Right now we often work short in a lot of our facilities, but when we cannot meet the staffing requirements, we end up beginning to reduce capacity in order to keep the safety level at what it should be. So could this be a wake-up call to some extent? Absolutely. I think any chance that we have to talk about the fragility of the air traffic system and the ways to improve it, we should be out doing that. The President of the United States raised questions about the quality of people being recruited into these jobs. How do you respond to that? Every certified professional

air traffic controller, regardless of their race, regardless of their gender, has gone through rigorous testing to become that controller. Background checks, security checks, medical checks, that's just to get in the door. Do you anticipate being able to speak to the controllers who are on duty? Yes, actually spoke to them the night of the actual incident.

Again, they themselves are devastated, this being the life-changing moment. I plan to go spend some time with them. There are a lot of questions, but certainly a broad determination to get to the facts and figure out if lives can be saved in the future. Those lives, they came from all walks. The 67 people lost when the plane and the helicopter collided.

Tom Yamas with more of their stories tonight. 67 lives, moms and dads, Girl Scouts, pipe fitters, soldiers, and so many young, promising figure skaters gone in an instant. It's just this place of pain that I can't access fully yet. I keep saying that the analogy I'm using is it's like my daughter's room. I can't walk in there. Andy Beyer lost his 12-year-old daughter Brielle and his wife Justina. Brielle was an up-and-coming skater from Virginia who was training in Wichita. Justina, the mom who did it all for her kids, including traveling to help Brielle. Talk to me about the moments when she was out there performing. I mean, she had just the most amazing season this season. She won almost every competition she was in. She qualified, which was like a life goal for her.

1984 Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton knew many of the victims. I was just in Wichita, and I got to see so many of these skaters and coaches. And for this to happen just days after those championships were over, it's just devastating, shocking. It just doesn't make any sense. Today, we are learning more about who was on board both the American Airlines flight and the military helicopter. The crew of the Black Hawk included Andrew Eves, who served in the Navy for a decade before joining the Army, and Ryan O'Hara, a 28-year-old who served in Afghanistan, while Samuel Lilly and Jonathan Campos piloted the American Airlines flight. Tracy Grubbs says his friend Campos was so proud when he became a captain for American.

Know about pilots is they always go to strive to be the best. He was one of the best. Lilly's dad says he was set to get married this fall, posting, I was so proud when Sam became a pilot. Now it hurts so bad I can't even cry myself to sleep. Among the 60 passengers on flight 5342, Kia Duggins, a civil rights lawyer about to start as a professor at Howard University, a Wichita native, Kia attended services at Tabernacle Bible Church just this past Sunday. Minister Annie Montgomery was a mentor. She was absolutely a beautiful, radiant person on the outside. But more than that, I saw the beauty and the radiance from the inside. Mikey Stolval was one of seven friends on board returning from their annual duck hunting trip to Kansas.

His mom, Christina, says he was a wonderful father to his 11-year-old son. He was only 40 years old. He is loved by everybody. Mikey's one of these, from when he was little, everybody will tell you, Mikey loves everybody. Up and down the East Coast, figure skating clubs are struggling to make sense of the loss. In Virginia, one club lost 14 members of its community. Rena Lynn remembering her friend, 11-year-old Alidia Livingston. She was always very happy, and she would always help people if they like sad or hurt. Tom Yamas, NBC News, Washington. All right, we turn out of some breaking news in northeast Philadelphia where

there has been a fiery jet crash. Morgan Chesky reports with late details. A fiery explosion in northeast Philadelphia right in the middle of Friday rush hour near a small but popular mall, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro confirming a small plane had crashed. Videos from the scene show burning debris and heavy black smoke. Our local station, NBC 10 Philadelphia, reporting at least three homes and multiple vehicles caught fire as a result of the crash. The explosion caught on doorbell cameras around the area. We're urging you to please stay away from the crash. The explosion caught on doorbell cameras around the area. We're urging you to please stay away from the scene. If you see debris, call 9-1-1. In a statement, the FAA says the plane was a Learjet that crashed after departing from Northeast Philadelphia Airport. The plane was

operated by Jet Rescue, which is an air ambulance company. They say six people were on board and cannot confirm any survivors. The scene of the crash soaked in heavy rain as ambulances worked their way to the site more than an hour after the first call came in. Nearby, Gregory Gibson, who works at the Roosevelt Mall sharing, he's been unable to reach fellow co-workers still inside. Some of those employees there are my friends. These are my family around this area, so I'm just so concerned about everybody's safety. Now, the company that

operates that air ambulance, Jet Rescue, says that tonight of the six people on board, four were their crew members. One was a pediatric patient and the other was their escort. A rep for the company tells us that young patient was a Mexican national who had successfully completed their treatment and was on their way back to Mexico. Jet Rescue says tonight their thoughts are with the families and anyone else who may have been hurt on the ground. Lester. All right, Morgan Chesky, thank you. In 60 seconds, it's at the start of a new trade war. Trump set to impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China. What it could mean for the price you pay. The Trump administration is set to impose new tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China starting tomorrow. The president insisting today they won't lead to more inflation here at home.

Garrett Haik has late details. Tonight, the White House saying President Trump is keeping a campaign promise by imposing tariffs tomorrow on Mexico, Canada and China in response to migrants and fentanyl coming across the border. We'll possibly very substantially increase it or not. We'll see how it is. Twenty five percent duties on imports from Canada and Mexico and 10 percent from China. And the president hinting at tariffs to come on computer chips, steel and pharmaceuticals. We want to bring pharmaceuticals back to the country. And the way you bring it back to the country is by putting up a wall. And the wall is a tariff wall.

But Mexico's president warning the tariffs could violate the trade agreement President Trump negotiated in his first term. And critics say the extra tax paid by U.S. importers will be passed along to American consumers. This is going to be a way to spur inflation. It's just, you know, just because Donald Trump's the new president doesn't mean that all of the Econ 101 books are going to get rewritten. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell pressing the president, who pointed to his first term. What do you say to the voters who want to see you reduce everyday costs? I had almost no inflation, and yet I charged hundreds of billions of dollars of tariffs to countries. Tariffs don't

cause inflation, they cause success. It all comes as federal agencies scramble to comply with President Trump's orders to end Biden DEI policies. The Office of Personnel Management ordering all, quote, gender ideology references be removed today, including pronouns and email signatures, according to a memo obtained by NBC News. Another memo we've obtained from the Defense Intelligence Agency ordering a pause on, quote, special observances, including for Black History Month in February and Pride in June. And the CDC today scrubbing some HIV-related content from its website. And Garrett, you also have some new reporting about a major shakeup at the FBI. Yeah, that's right, Lester. The Trump administration has

now forced out all six of the FBI's most senior executives and the heads of several field offices around the country, including here in Washington, according to current and former FBI officials. When we asked President Trump about this earlier today, he said he was not involved in that, that if people were fired, quote, that's a good thing. Lester. All right, Garrett, thank you. Up next, the clash over the canal. Andrew Mitchell reports from Panama, where Trump has threatened to take control of the vital passage. Secretary of State Rubio heads there tomorrow. New Secretary of State Marco Rubio faces a showdown on his first foreign trip tomorrow in Panama. There's an uproar in the Central American nation over President Trump's threat to take

control of the Panama Canal. NBC's Andrea Mitchell is there. In Panama, flags are flying high, raised in defiance of President Trump's threat to take back the Panama Canal, a canal Panama has operated for decades and says is not controlled by anyone else, including China, and won't give up. Jaime Trejano works at the canal and is a canal historian. The Panama Canal is operated by the Panama Canal Authority, which is 100% Panamanian. Not by China. Panamanians. The canal was opened in 1914 at a cost to the U.S. of $352 million,

but was turned over to Panama in 1999. Ships sailing through the canal go only 51 miles. That cuts the distance from Atlantic to Pacific by more than 9,000 miles, cutting the distance and the time by more than a month. That saves millions of dollars for businesses and consumers in the U.S. A Chinese company does operate ports at either end of the canal, but other ports are operated by the U.S. and Taiwan. Former U.S. officials confirm American ships don't pay more than any other countries,

as the president has said. Still, Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday doubled down on President Trump's claims. If the government of China in a conflict tells them shut down the Panama Canal, they will have to. That is a direct threat. Jorge Quijano administered the canal when Vice President Pence visited in 2017 and worked there for 44 years. Instead of bringing in the hammer, extend the hand. And I think we'll get much further than where we are now because the canal will not go back to the United States. People here say Panama is America's closest ally in the region, cracking down on illegal migration and drugs, a message Panama's president plans to deliver

to Secretary Rubio tomorrow. Lester. Andrea Mitchell, thank you. When we come back, our close-knit community on the ice is coming together after the tragedy in the sky. Turning back to the figure skating community, which is reeling tonight from unimaginable loss. Sam Brock is in Boston, where some skaters are getting back on the ice and honoring those lost. 36 hours after this rink went silent and world-renowned skater Jimmy Ma is back on the ice in Boston. None of us want to hear music today, but because we have that job, we have to. They would want us to. Losing six members of the skating community, he says, felt akin to losing family.

All of them were pillars of our community. But to me personally, like Jen and Gina, like just they've had a massive impact. Ma referring to the family of 13-year-old Gina Han, who three years ago shared her dreams with NBC Boston. I really want to go to the Olympics step by step. Today, her coach saying that goal was in sight. Gina's nickname was Gina Starina. She was a little star.

Instead, a plan is crystallizing on how to honor the lives of Gina and her mom, Spencer Lane and his mom, and coaches Vadim Naumov and Zhenya Shishkova. You feel like your role has expanded. Yes. These kids would have wanted us to push. These kids would not want to see us give up. As the skating club of Boston mourns, it's also preparing to host the world championships in just two months. I do think that this community, this worldwide community, will come together in those moments and support each other. Tonight, the skaters here are showing tragedy won't define their community, but rather reveal its essential love and connection.

If I could leave a lasting impact on these youngsters, that would mean the world to me. And it starts with us being strong for this situation. Sam Brock, NBC News, Norwood, Massachusetts. And that's nightly news for this Friday. Thank you for watching. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other.

Good night.