Two employees of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) are facing serious legal trouble after allegedly leaking chilling surveillance footage of last week’s catastrophic midair collision over the Potomac River to CNN.
Authorities arrested Mohamed Lamine Mbengue, 21, of Rockville, Maryland, and Jonathan Savoy, 45, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, on charges of computer trespass and unauthorized copying of records. Mbengue was booked into the Arlington County Adult Detention Center and later released, while Savoy was issued a summons and allowed to walk free.
Their alleged crime? Leaking footage of a horrifying disaster—one that claimed the lives of all 67 people on board both aircraft—to the left-leaning network CNN, which wasted no time broadcasting the tragic final moments for public consumption.
The tragedy unfolded last Wednesday night when a Black Hawk helicopter carrying three U.S. Army soldiers and an American Airlines passenger jet collided in the sky near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The devastating crash sent both aircraft plunging into the icy Potomac River, leaving no survivors.
The video, which CNN proudly showcased, provided an unsettling new perspective on the disaster. One clip captures the Black Hawk darting into view as the American Airlines flight approaches the airport. Another short video shows both aircraft moments before impact—seconds before an explosion turned the night sky into an inferno.
The footage, which was reportedly captured on cell phones, is now at the center of a criminal investigation. MWAA officials have yet to release further details, but the arrests raise critical concerns about unauthorized access to sensitive security footage and whether political or media agendas played a role in the leak.
Authorities are still working to determine how the collision could have happened, with federal investigators raising wreckage from the river as part of an ongoing probe. Most of the victims’ remains have been recovered, and efforts are now focused on bringing parts of the doomed American Airlines flight to shore before recovering the Black Hawk helicopter.
The military helicopter carried Army Capt. Rebecca Lobach, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, and Staff Sgt. Ryan O’Hara—heroes who tragically lost their lives in service to their country. Meanwhile, the passenger jet was carrying dozens of Americans, including members of the close-knit U.S. figure skating community, whose families are now left grieving an unthinkable loss.
The revelation that airport employees allegedly violated security protocols to leak this footage to CNN raises serious ethical and legal questions. Should classified airport surveillance be freely handed over to media outlets with an anti-establishment agenda? Were these leaks politically motivated, or was it simply an opportunistic move to profit from tragedy?
One thing is certain: the American people deserve accountability—not just from those responsible for the crash, but also from those who exploited it for headlines.