Reposted by Newsmata
A US Park Police helicopter flies over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
A member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) stands by a door at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP)
All 64 people aboard an American Airlines jet that collided with an Army helicopter were feared dead in what was likely to be the worst U.S. aviation disaster in almost a quarter century, officials said Thursday.
A US Park Police helicopter flies over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
AP reports that at least 28 bodies were pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River after the helicopter apparently flew into the path of the jet late Wednesday as it was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, officials said. The plane carried 60 passengers and four crew. Three soldiers were aboard the helicopter.
“We don’t believe there are any survivors,” said John Donnelly, the fire chief in the nation’s capital. “We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation.”
The plane was found upside-down in three sections in waist-deep water, and first responders were searching an area of the Potomac River as far south as the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, roughly 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) south of the airport, Donnelly said. The helicopter wreckage was also found.
If no one survived, the collision would be the deadliest U.S. air crash since 2009.
There was no immediate word on the cause of the collision, but officials said flight conditions were clear as the jet arrived from Wichita, Kansas, with U.S. and Russian figure skaters and others aboard. It was preparing for a routine landing at the time of the collision.
A member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) stands by a door at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP)
“On final approach into Reagan National, it collided with a military aircraft on an otherwise normal approach,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said. “At this time, we don’t know why the military aircraft came into the path of the … aircraft.”
President Donald Trump was scheduled to talk about the crash later Thursday from the White House.
Images from the river showed boats around the partly submerged wing and the mangled wreckage of the plane’s fuselage.
Investigators will try to piece together the aircraft’s final moments before the collision, including its contact with air traffic controllers.
“I would just say that everyone who flies in American skies expects that we fly safely,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.
“That when you depart an airport, you get to your destination. That didn’t happen last night, and I know that President Trump, his administration, the FAA, the DOT, we will not rest until we have answers for the families and for the flying public. You should be assured that when you fly, you’re safe.”
Courtesy: Associated Press (AP)