WASHINGTON: Scores of people were feared dead after an American Airlines regional passenger jet with 64 people on board and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided and crashed into the frigid Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport.
Officials did not provide a death toll from Wednesday night’s collision but U.S. Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, where the flight originated, suggested most if not all those on board had been killed.
“It’s really hard when you lose probably over 60 Kansans simultaneously,“ he told a press conference at Reagan airport in the nation’s capital early on Thursday.
“When one person dies, it’s a tragedy, but when many, many, many people die, it’s an unbearable sorrow. It’s a heartbreak beyond measure.”
Jack Potter, the president and CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, said first responders were in “rescue mode.”
American Airlines confirmed 60 passengers and four crew members were aboard the jet. The helicopter, on a training flight, was carrying three soldiers, a U.S. official said.
READ MORE: Plane carrying more than 60 collides with helicopter, crashes in Washington
CBS News, citing a police official, said at least 18 bodies had been recovered. Two sources told Reuters multiple bodies had been pulled from the water.
The midair collision occurred as the passenger jet, traveling from Wichita in Kansas, was on approach to land at Reagan. Radio communications between the air traffic control tower and the Black Hawk showed the helicopter crew knew the plane was in the vicinity.
The Pentagon said it was launching an investigation.
In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump questioned the actions of the helicopter crew and air traffic controllers.
“The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn,“ Trump wrote.
“Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane. This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!”
Air traffic control recordings appear to capture the final attempted communications with the helicopter, call sign PAT25, before it collides with the plane, described as CRJ.
“PAT25, do you have a CRJ in sight? PAT25, pass behind the CRJ,“ an air traffic controller says at 8:47 p.m. (0147 GMT), according to a recording on liveatc.net.
Seconds later, another aircraft calls in to air traffic control, saying, “Tower, did you see that?” - apparently referring to the crash. An air traffic controller then redirects planes heading to runway 33 to go around.
Webcam video of the crash showed the impact between the aircraft and the helicopter, and an explosion lighting up the night sky.
Just after the collision, an air traffic controller was heard saying over the radio, “I just saw a fireball and then it was just gone. I haven’t seen anything since they hit the river.”
RESCUE EFFORTS
Relatives gathered at the airport said they were receiving little official information about the incident. One man wept as he stood on the sidewalk at 3 a.m. outside the airport.
Among those on board were Russian former world ice skating champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, Russian state media reported. So too were several U.S. ice skaters, family members and coaches returning from a camp following figure skating championships in Wichita, governing body U.S. Figure Skating said.
Washington DC fire chief John Donnelly said at least 300 first responders were continuing to work on the “highly complex” rescue operation.
“Conditions out there are extremely rough for the responders,“ Donnelly said. “It’s cold. They’re dealing with windy conditions.”
Asked by reporters whether there were any survivors, he responded that “we don’t know yet.”
Hypothermia is a concern for any possible survivors and first responders.
“At these frigid water temperatures, the human body’s core temperature quickly drops. Exhaustion or unconsciousness can occur in as little as 15 to 30 minutes,“ AccuWeather Senior Director of Forecast Operations Dan DePodwin said.
Hours after the crash, a helicopter circled, shining a spotlight into the water. A rescue team on a boat peered into the water with a flashlight.
Airports authority CEO Potter said the airport would remain closed until at least 11 a.m. on Thursday.
In 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River, killing 70 passengers and four crew members. Only four passengers and one crew member survived.
The last deadly major crash involving a commercial airliner in the U.S. was in 2009, when all 49 people aboard a Colgan Air flight died when the plane crashed in New York state. One person was also killed on the ground.
A series of near-miss incidents in recent years has raised safety concerns.
PSA was operating Flight 5342 for American Airlines, the FAA said.
“We’re cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board in its investigation and will continue to provide all the information we can,“ American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said.
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