A passenger jet and a military helicopter collided over the Potomac River, resulting in a major recovery operation. Dozens of bodies have been recovered from the frigid waters, with authorities confirming no survivors. The crash involved American Eagle flight carrying figure skaters and coaches, along with a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter. A National Transportation Safety Board investigation is underway to determine the cause of the collision.
The two aircraft crashed into the Potomac River, where a rescue operation has become a major recovery effort, with dozens of bodies pulled from the frigid waters so far.American figure skaters, coaches and family members who had been at a camp in Wichita were among those aboard the passenger jet, according to U.S. Figure Skating.Wichita Mayor Lily Wu spoke to reporters at a press conference this morning, saying that"our hearts are heavy as a city.
"Our community needs to come together to support the family members who have been impacted, to come together in honor of those individuals on that flight," Wu said.No black boxes have been recovered from the crash scene yet, according to a National Transportation Safety Board source.
The D.C. medical examiner said the recovery operation is the largest undertaken in D.C. in decades. In a press conference today, Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly said authorities believed there were no survivors from the crash.“Sorrow, thanks and questions.
At least 28 bodies have been pulled from the water, he said. Of those, 27 were from the American Eagle civilian jet and one from the U.S. Black Hawk helicopter, Donnelly said. Multiple medical examiner offices are working on identifying the victims, with the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner leading the efforts to reunite the bodies with loved ones.
"Last night, the helicopter was in a standard pattern. If you live in the D.C. area, you’ll see helicopters up and down the river, this flight pattern is seen oftentimes when you live in D.C.," Duffy said. Later writing on social media, he said: “The lights were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn… 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.”Audio from the air traffic control tower may provide clues as to what happened just before last night’s disaster.
"We are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. At this point I don't believe we are going to find any survivors," Fire and EMS Chief Fire John Donnelly said in a news conference this morning.Of those, 27 were from the American Eagle civilian jet and one from the U.S. Black Hawk helicopter. The D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is leading reuniting the bodies with loved ones, and multiple medical examiner offices are working on identifying the victims.
More than 30 bodies have been recovered from the Potomac River where American Eagle Flight 5342 and a military helicopters both lie in ruin, two sources familiar with the rescue efforts told NBC Washington.A man who lives alongside the Potomac River heard the moment American Eagle Flight 5342 collided with a U.S. military helicopter late last night and described the sound as like something from a movie or a war zone.
Two Russian world champions were also among the passengers on the American Eagle flight, Russian state media reported.Emergency workers search the waters of the Potomac river close to the scene of the wreckage near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport this morning, in a desperate search for survivors.American-Russian figure skater Anton Spiridonov has confirmed that he was not among the casualties in Wednesday's crash, despite reports to the contrary.
Shishkova, 52, and Naumov, 55, are 1994 World Championship winners in pairs figure skating and were working as national team coaches for Russia. She also said in a post on X that the next news conference from the multi-agency unified response team would be at 7.30 a.m. ET today.Rescuers are facing freezing temperatures as they search the Potomac River for survivors. At the Reagan National Airport the temperature is 45 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.Temperatures could dip as low as 32 degrees, with winds of 6 mph.
Both of the aircraft — an American Eagle jet and an Army Black Hawk — are in the Potomac River. There were 64 people on the plane and three in the helicopter. American Eagle Flight 5342, which was inbound from Wichita, Kansas, was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, American Airlines said. The Black Hawk helicopter had three people aboard, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said.
Emergency responders load diving equipment on a boat to continue working at the scene of airplane wreckage in the Potomac River.“The challenges are access. The water that we’re operating in is about 8 feet deep,” Washington Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said. “There is wind, there is pieces of ice out there. So it’s just dangerous and hard to work in.”
Aircraft were rerouted to Washington Dulles International Airport, also in the Washington area, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority CEO Jack Potter. Though casualties are not yet confirmed, Marshall, a physician, said he had not seen ambulances leave the area or rescuers perform CPR. Both senators said the days following the search-and-rescue operation will be focused on figuring out why the crash happened.Over 300 first responders are working at the scene of the plane crash, the chief of the Washington Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department said.
A little more than 10 minutes after the crash, a controller asks a pilot on the ground whether he wants to return to the gate. He said loved ones of those aboard the flight can call 1-800-679-8215, a help line set up by the airline. The regional jet was coming in to land at Runway 33, from the south, when it collided with a military helicopter and crashed.
“It looked to me like a giant Roman candle, sparks shooting from the head of the plane down to the tail. I saw that for about two seconds,” Schulman said, adding that he initially wondered whether he had hallucinated the crash, but then he began seeing emergency vehicles.There were 60 passengers and four crew members on the plane that crashed after a midair collision near Reagan Airport, American Airlines said.
Windows above, below and to both sides of the crew give Black Hawk pilots near-panoramic visibility that's far superior to that of a big jet, Duckworth said on MSNBC's"The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell." That plane crashed after it took off from what was then called Washington National Airport, which is now known as Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
"I landed at DCA this evening at 8:42pm, IAH—DCA, minutes before an in-flight collision over the airport. My thoughts are with all involved and their families. Hoping first responders find survivors,"The Bombardier CRJ700 has 44 seats in its main cabin, 12 in the main cabin extra section and nine in first class, theSen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said roughly 60 passengers were aboard the plane that departed from Wichita en route to Reagan National.
“Please say a prayer for everyone involved in the mid-air collision near Reagan airport this evening. We’re monitoring the situation, but for now let’s hope for the best,” VanceHomeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been briefed on the crash and is"actively monitoring" it, a Noem aide told NBC News.
AIR CRASH RECOVERY POTOMAC RIVER NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD SURVIVORS
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