Two employees of the authority that manages Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were arrested for allegedly leaking surveillance footage of the deadly midair aircraft collision between and American Airlines plane and a Black Hawk helicopter.
According to reports, the two leaked cell phone footage directly to CNN.
Two airport authority workers arrested for allegedly leaking DC plane crash video to CNN https://t.co/uTvfZwhneB pic.twitter.com/87IyXrRiae
— New York Post (@nypost) February 3, 2025
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.
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.
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 released.
This is an on-going story. Check back for further updates.