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It is estimated that over 60 individuals lost their lives following a collision between an American Airlines aircraft and a military helicopter during the landing process at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, located near Washington, DC. American Airlines reported on Thursday that the jet, which was en route from Wichita, Kansas, to the nation’s capital, had 60 passengers and four crew members aboard. An unnamed military official verified that the helicopter, which was engaged in a training mission, was transporting three soldiers who had departed from Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
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According to Washington, DC, Fire Chief John Donnelly, he did not foresee any survivors after the two aircraft collided and subsequently fell into the icy Potomac River. Rescue teams launched inflatable boats and employed light towers to illuminate the area. Donnelly referred to the search efforts as a “highly complex operation,” emphasizing that “the conditions out there are extremely rough for the responders.” Furthermore, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser spoke at a news conference held at the airport, indicating that efforts were ongoing to “recover fellow citizens.”
In statements made on Thursday, President Donald Trump expressed his views on the incident, describing the crash as a “tragedy of terrible proportions” that occurred during a “dark and excruciating night in our nation’s capital.”
On Wednesday at approximately 9 PM local time (02:00 GMT), an American Airlines flight (flight 5342), produced by the Canadian company Bombardier, collided with a Sikorsky Black Hawk army helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan airport, situated along the Potomac River to the southwest of Washington, DC.
Prior to the planned landing, air traffic controllers inquired whether the pilots could land on Runway 33, and flight tracking data indicated that the pilots modified their flight path to comply with this request.
Less than 30 seconds prior to the collision, an air traffic controller inquired whether the army helicopter could detect the approaching aircraft. “PAT25 [army helicopter], do you have the CRJ [American Airlines plane] in your line of sight? PAT25, please maneuver behind the CRJ,” the controller communicated at 8:47 PM (ET on Wednesday, 01:47 GMT on Thursday). Following the incident, air traffic controllers were recorded stating, “Crash, crash, crash, this is an alert three.”
Another controller remarked, “I just witnessed a fireball, and then it vanished. I have not observed anything since they impacted the river. It was indeed a CRJ and a helicopter that collided.”
