Washington
List: What to do in the Washington DC area, Nov. 4-10
We share the best things to do every weekend in The Weekend Scene newsletter – it’s completely free to subscribe!
Election Day might be the only thing on your mind, but another weekend will be here before you know it.
If election night watch parties are your thing, we have options with pun-filled menus and drink specials.
If you’re feeling some stress around the election, here’s where to calm down — or let it out — and why it works.
And don’t forget to get yourself a little treat after voting! Here are details on rideshare, food and drink deals in the D.C. area.
Here’s what else to do this week in the Washington, D.C. area.
What to do in Washington, D.C.
Spanish immersion pupusa class (Weds.) and pupusas and cocktails class (Thurs.): El Tamarindo at 1785 Florida Ave. NW, $60
Washingtonian’s Whiskey, Wine & Fine Spirits Festival: Thurs., 6:30 p.m., Dock5 at Union Market, $80
HBCU First LOOK Film Festival: Fri. to Sun., Howard University Blackburn Center, $15 – $30
Czech Christmas Market: Sat., Embassy of Czechia in Northwest D.C., free but timed ticket required
Day of the Dead exhibit: El muerto al pozo y el vivo al gozo: Open to general public Nov. 4-27, Mexican Cultural Institute (2829 16th St NW), free
Side Yards: Fri., 5:30-8:30 p.m., The Yards Park, free
Eastern Market November Fest: Sat. and Sun., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., free
Veteran Comedy Night: Sat., doors at 7 p.m., Penn Social (801 E St. NW), $10-$20
Day Of The Dead Masquerade Embassy Gala: Sat., 8:15 to 11:45 p.m., The Mexican Cultural Institute, $139
El Tamarindo’s National Pupusa Day celebration: Sun., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 1785 Florida Ave. NW, free
What to do in Maryland
Martin Lawrence: Thurs., Fri. and Sat., The Theater at MGM National Harbor,
Illusions by Vick as Professor Snape: Sat., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., Arts Barn in Gaithersburg, $10
61st Annual Danish Christmas Bazaar: Sat., 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saint Elizabeth’s Church (917 Montrose Road, Rockville), free (cash and check only for purchases)
National Harbor Holiday Tree Lighting & Fireworks: Sat., 5:30 p.m., free
Commanders vs. Steelers: Sun., 1 p.m., Northwest Stadium in Landover
Holiday Movies on the Potomac – “Elf”: Sun., National Harbor, free
What to do in Virginia
Great Country Farms Dino Fest: Oct. 31 to Nov. 24, Bluemont, Virginia, $29.99 plus fees in advance, $32 at the gate
31st Annual Northern Virginia Christmas Market: Fri. to Sun., Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, $9 (free for kids 12 and under)
Reston Town Center Ice Skating Rink: Opens Fri.
Winter Walk of Lights: Nov. 8 to Jan. 5, Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, $18-$22
Coming up soon
Winter Lights’ Sip & Sparkle: Sun., 6-9 p.m., Seneca Creek State Park in Gaithersburg, $35 per person ($20 if not participating in tastings)
National Gallery Nights: To the District, with Love: Ticket lottery open now for the Nov. 14 event
Want to know what’s up for your weekend? Sign up for The Weekend Scene, our newsletter about events, experiences and adventures for you and for your family around the DMV.
Washington
School closures: Track closings, delays in western WA for Monday, Feb. 3
SEATTLE – Some western Washington school districts will be closed or delayed on Monday due to winter weather.
What they’re saying:
According to FOX 13 Meteorologist Abby Acone, isolated bands of snow will continue Sunday evening through Monday. The big concern overnight will be icy roads.
We lose a lot of additional moisture after midnight, and showers will be far less widespread Monday morning. However, any precipitation that falls overnight will be in the form of snow – potentially leading to minor accumulations where this happens.
Check the status of your district below:
LATEST: Seattle and Western Washington Weather Forecast
LIST: Winter Weather Closings
Latest school closings and delays in Washington:
*To search listings below, press CTRL + F and type a keyword. Refresh your browser to see the latest updates.
The Source: This story was based on information from FOX 13 Meteorologist Abby Acone.
Stay connected with FOX 13 Seattle:
Washington
Mapped: How American Airlines plane collided with army helicopter near DC airport
The American Airlines regional jet was on the final approach to Ronald Reagan National Airport., when it collided midair with a military Black Hawk helicopter shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday claiming the lives of 67 people.
So far, 40 bodies have been recovered from the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., as the names of the victims are being released by loved ones and officials.
Two “black boxes” have also been recovered from the wreckage, with a cockpit voice recorder and a flight data recorder taken for lab analysis, the National Transportation Safety Board said.
Jennifer Homendy, chair of NTSB, said Thursday: “We’re here to assure the American people that we are going to leave no stone unturned in this investigation.”
Questions have been raised about staffing and safety at the airport’s air traffic control after reports that one controller clocked off early, according to the New York Times.
The newspaper also reported that the helicopter may not have been traveling along its approved flight path.
Airport is closest to the capital
Ronald Reagan National Airport is located less than four miles from the White House. Flying into D.C. over the Potomac River, passengers get a glimpse of the famed Washington monuments from their window.
Flight 5343 was coming in to land on Runway 33 when disaster struck.
Wichita – Washington, D.C., flight only running for a year
The Wichita flight to Reagan National Airport has only been running for a year and politicians fought hard to get it going.
U.S. Senator Jerry Moran announced the American Airlines direct flight from Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport to Washington Reagan National Airport would make travel “faster and more affordable” for Kansas residents in July 2023.
According to provisional data from FlightAware, American Eagle Flight 5342 took off from Wichita, Kansas, around 5:22 p.m. CST and was in the air for 2 hours and 35 minutes, with an estimated arrival time in Washington at 8:57 p.m. EST.
But the flight tracking data showed the flight’s status result as “unknown” and according to the visuals, the plane stopped on the east side of the Potomac River, roughly adjacent to the Blue Plains neighborhood in D.C.
Helicopter ‘may not have been on approved flight path’
The Black Hawk helicopter carrying the three soldiers may not have been traveling along its approved flight path, according to the New York Times.
According to sources who spoke to the newspaper, the helicopter was supposed to be flying in a different location and lower to the ground when it crossed Reagan National airspace.
The helicopter was flying too high and outside its approved path, several people with knowledge of the investigation told the Times.
Staffing and safety issues at air traffic control
Months before Wednesday’s deadly aircraft collision, lawmakers were engaged in a fierce debate over safety at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Less than a year ago, several Washington-area lawmakers warned that a bill adding more flights to the airport could pose serious safety concerns. Last spring, a major aviation bill passed by Congress and signed by then-President Joe Biden added five new daily long-haul flights at Reagan National Airport.
The airport is among the busiest in the country and pilots routinely rate it among the nation’s most challenging, according to NBC Washington.
The air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan National Airport was facing personnel issues on the night of the crash, according to the New York Times. Staffing “was not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” according to an internal preliminary Federal Aviation Administration safety report.
The controller who was handling helicopters near the airport “was also instructing planes that were landing and departing from its runways.”
“Those jobs typically are assigned to two controllers, rather than one,” the Times reported. The outlet noted that the tower at the airport had been understaffed for years.
One staff member was reportedly allowed to leave early on the night of the crash, the source told The Times. The specific timings were not immediately clear.
Soldiers aboard Black Hawk helicopter were “experienced”
The helicopter crew was “very experienced” and were not unfamiliar with the aircraft or the congestion that occurs in the airspace around D.C.
“Both pilots had flown this specific route before, at night. This wasn’t something new to either one of them,” Jonathan Koziol, chief of staff for Army aviation said. “Even the crew chief in the back has been in the unit for a very long time, very familiar with the area, very familiar with the routing structure.”
NTSB officials said it was “too soon to tell,” exactly what was the fault of the collision.
One of the soldiers has been named as Ryan O’Hara, the Crew Chief and father-of-one from Georgia.
“Ryan is fondly remembered as a guy who would fix things around the ROTC gym as well as a vital member of the Rifle Team. Ryan leaves behind a wife and 1-year-old son,” Parkview High School JROTC in Atlanta wrote in a Facebook post which has since been removed, WSB-TV Atlanta reported.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves was also on the army helicopter, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said on X.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Eaves’ wife, Carrie Eaves said: “We ask that you pray for our family and friends and for all the other families that are suffering today. We ask for peace while we grieve,” the post read. “These families’ children do not need to suffer more pain.”
Divers search day and night in difficult conditions
A fleet of divers combed the Potomac River in search of survivors Wednesday night and continued Thursday morning.
So far, 40 bodies have been recovered.
“The challenges are access. The water that we’re operating in is about 8 feet deep,” District of Columbia Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said on Wednesday night. “There is wind, there is pieces of ice out there. So it’s just dangerous and hard to work in.”
He continued: “And because there’s not a lot of lights, you’re out there searching every square inch of space to see if you can find anybody.
“Divers are doing the same thing in the water. The water is dark, it is murky, and that is a very tough condition for them to dive in.”
Authorities said they were “confident” all of the bodies would be recovered but it would “take time.”
Washington
D.C. crash investigators focus on altitude and vision quality of helicopter crew
Three days after the midair collision of an Army helicopter and an American Airlines passenger plane near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, air safety investigators said on Saturday that they are still working to fill in some key details that could point to the cause of the crash.
They are looking into whether the pilots from the Army’s Black Hawk helicopter experienced vision impairment while flying in the dark skies and whether the copter deviated from its normal route.
The Black Hawk may have been flying higher than it should have been, said representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board, an independent federal agency leading the investigation, during a briefing on Saturday evening.
But investigators stopped short of confirming multiple media reports, based on publicly available flight data, that the helicopter breached aviation rules that require helicopters on that route to stay below 200 feet.
The Wednesday night impact sent passengers into the icy waters of the Potomac River. All 67 people aboard both aircraft were killed. It’s the deadliest air crash to occur in the U.S. in 20 years.
J. Todd Inman, a member of the NTSB, said that the helicopter was on a training mission. The aircraft would typically use night vision in such an event. Investigators are still working to confirm whether crew members were wearing night vision goggles at the time of the crash, Inman said, a factor that could play a role in the cause of the accident.
“We do not know at this time if the night vision goggles were actively being worn,” he said.
Preliminary data shows the Black Hawk was flying at an altitude of 325 feet at the time of the crash, according to Inman. Reagan National is one of the most congested airports in the country. Aviation rules require helicopters on that route above the Potomac to stay below 200 feet. AA Flight 5342’s last transmitted altitude was about 300 feet.
Data downloaded from the two recording devices recovered from the passenger plane is under analysis, investigators said. The cockpit recorder from the Black Hawk, commonly known as a black box, was recovered in good condition, Inman said. Data from the devices could be key for investigators in determining what led to the crash.
The NTSB is leading the investigation as it probes another plane crash. Two days after the D.C.-area collision, a small plane plummeted near a Philadelphia shopping center, killing all six people aboard and one person on the ground.
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