Small plane crashes into 3 vehicles on Texas roadway
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(VICTORIA, Texas) — A small plane crashed into three vehicles Wednesday afternoon on a roadway in Victoria, Texas.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the twin-engine Piper PA-31 crashed around 3:00 p.m. local time.
Only the pilot was on board the plane at the time of the crash.
In a video posted on Facebook, which showed the wreckage, the Victoria Police Department said there had been three vehicles and one airplane involved in the crash.
The condition of the vehicles’ occupants is unknown at this time, according to the police department.
“Preliminary information indicates the plane landed on a roadway and struck multiple vehicles,” the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement.
The FAA and the NTSB will investigate the incident.
(NEW YORK) — A captain in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps faces federal murder and terrorism charges in New York, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Friday that charges Mohammad Reza Nouri with orchestrating the murder of an American citizen to avenge the drone strike killing of a top Iranian general.
Stephen Troell, a 45-year-old American living in Baghdad, was killed in front of his wife in November 2022 after federal prosecutors said Nouri gathered intelligence on Troell’s daily routine, procured weapons and housed the operatives who carried out the murder.
“We allege that Mohammad Reza Nouri, an officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, orchestrated the murder of Stephen Troell, an American citizen living in Iraq, carrying out the Iranian Regime’s efforts to take vengeance for the death of Qasim Soleimani,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement announcing the charges. “Stephen should still be alive today, and the Justice Department will work relentlessly to ensure accountability for his murder.”
The U.S. has said Iran sought revenge for the January 2020 death of Soleimani in an American drone strike in Baghdad.
In November 2022, the Iranian regime struck in Iraq. A group of operatives working on behalf of the IRGC brutally murdered Troell in Baghdad, where he worked at an English language institute, as Troell was driving home with his wife after work.
Nouri, 36, allegedly “played a key role in the IRGC’s targeting and ultimate murder of Troell,” whom Nouri appears to have believed was working as an American or Israeli intelligence officer.
According to the complaint, Nouri accumulated data including Troell’s date of birth, coordinates of his residence, occupation, work schedule, telephone number, wife’s name, and children’s names, among other information. In the weeks leading up to the murder, he allegedly coordinated with one of his co-conspirators to procure firearms and a vehicle for use in the attack.
Troell was driving home from work with his wife when heavily armed gunmen in two cars forced the couple to stop shortly before they reached their residence, blocked any possible escape route, approached Troell on the driver’s side, and, using an assault weapon, shot and killed Troell as his wife witnessed the attack in the passenger seat.
Less than a half hour after the attack, Nouri sent an encrypted messages inquiring about the wellbeing of the operatives tasked with carrying out the hit, allegedly asking, “The guys are fine?” and “They are doing well?”
In March 2023, Iraqi authorities arrested Nouri and he was subsequently convicted by an Iraqi court for his role in Troell’s murder. He remains in custody in Iraq.
(NEW YORK) — The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ban on drone operations in several areas of New Jersey until Jan. 17, unless operators are granted special permission from the government due to “special security reasons.”
Uncrewed aerial drones have been lighting up the sky at night in New Jersey and nearby states for weeks, since about mid-November, leading to concern from residents and speculation online. Some had demanded answers from local and state officials for answers.
The temporary flight restrictions, which are set to last until Jan. 17, have been implemented beginning Wednesday in the following locations: Hamilton, Bridgewater, Cedar Grove, North Brunswick, Metuchen, Evesham, Camden, Gloucester City, Westampton, South Brunswick, Edison, Branchburg, Sewaren, Jersey City, Harrison, Elizabeth, Bayonne, Winslow, Burlington, Clifton, Hancocks Bridge and Kearny.
The restrictions say no uncrewed aircraft systems can operate within a nautical miles of the airspace specified in each Notice to Airmen, or NOTAM, including from the ground up to 400 feet. Recreational drones are allowed to operate up to 400 feet, under FAA rules.
The previously issued temporary flight restrictions for Bedminster and Picatinny Arsenal remain in place.
The government may use “deadly force” against the drones if they pose an “imminent security threat,” the NOTAM said.
Pilots who fail to abide by those restrictions could be “intercepted, detained, and interviewed by the law enforcement/security personnel.” The FAA said it could also take administrative action, including imposing civil penalties and suspending or revoking the operators’ certificates, as well as pursuing criminal charges.
This ban comes after Sunday’s press briefing where an FAA official said there have “without a doubt” been drones flying over New Jersey, pointing to the fact that there are nearly a million drones are registered in the U.S.
The FBI has received more than 5,000 tips in the last few weeks about drone sightings in New Jersey and other states, said a multiagency statement, which was released Monday by the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the FAA and the Department of Defense.
“Having closely examined the technical data and tips from concerned citizens, we assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones,” the joint statement said.
Emergency units respond to airplane wreckage in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. An American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided with a helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan National Airport. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Figure skaters and coaches returning from the recent U.S. national championships were aboard the American Airlines flight that collided with a Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport on Wednesday, officials said.
No survivors were expected in the crash, officials said Thursday. There were 64 people aboard the plane and three in the helicopter, according to officials.
Fourteen figure skaters were among those on the flight, Doug Zeghibe, the CEO and executive director for the Skating Club of Boston, said he was told.
Zeghibe said six victims were from the Skating Club of Boston, including two coaches, two teenage athletes and two moms of athletes.
He identified the skaters from the Skating Club of Boston as Jinna Ha and Spencer Lane. Ha’s mother, Jin Han, and Lane’s mother, Christine Lane, were also on board. Zeghibe also identified the two coaches as Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov. The two were 1994 World Pair Champions who joined the club in 2017, Zeghibe said.
“Six is a horrific number for us but we’re fortunate and grateful it wasn’t more than six,” Zeghibe said. “This will have long reaching impacts for our skating community.”
Zeghibe emphasized how tight-knit the skating community is and that “everyone is like family.”
“We are devastated and completely at a loss for words,” Zeghibe said.
The U.S. Figure Skating organization confirmed that “several members” of the skating community were aboard American Airlines Flight 5342 which took off from Wichita, Kansas, and crashed approaching Reagan National Airport after colliding with a helicopter shortly before 9 p.m.
“These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas,” the organization said.
“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts,” the organization said. “We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available.”
There were 60 passengers and four crew members aboard the jet and three personnel aboard the Army helicopter, which officials said was on a training flight at the time of the crash.
Officials have not publicly confirmed the number of fatalities in the crash.
The Mayor of Wichita, Lily Wu, offered her condolences during a press conference, becoming emotional when stating there are not any survivors.
“Our hearts are heavy as a city,” Wu said. “Our hearts are heavy as a city council, and we are here to provide the support needed for our community.”
At an early Thursday morning news conference, officials said they were continuing search-and-rescue operations in the icy Potomac River but did not say whether anyone had been pulled from the water alive, or confirm any deaths.
Meanwhile, Russian media reported that two Russian figure skaters were on board the American Airlines flight, and the presidential spokesman expressed condolences to the families and friends of those killed in the plane crash.
“There were other of our fellow citizens there. Bad news from Washington today,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday morning.
Earlier, several Russian state media outlets reported that the 1994 world figure skating champions in pairs, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, were on board the plane, though U.S. authorities have not confirmed these reports.
Oklahoma City figure skating coach Jackie Brenner was in Wichita with the skaters, coaches and officials who were aboard the flight.
“I was there on Sunday at a coaching workshop, which was the first day of U.S. figure skating development camp as they were coming into their two days of training,” Brenner said. “Huge excitement in the arena and lobby of all these families.”
The U.S. Figure Skating community has been struck by tragedy in a plane crash before. In February 1961, an entire U.S. figure skating team died in a plane crash on Feb. 15, 1961. The plane, Sabena Flight 548, was carrying the team to the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Along with the team, 16 family members, coaches and friends of the skaters died in the crash.
