Passenger jet collides with US Army Black Hawk: LIVE UPDATES
Passenger jet collides with US Army Black Hawk: As it happened
(about 7 hours later)
A multi-agency search and rescue operation is underway in Washington’s Potomac River following a midair collision
There are no survivors in the collision, US President Donald Trump confirmed
A civilian airliner carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided midair with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington, DC, on Wednesday night.
A civilian airliner carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided midair with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington, DC, on Wednesday night. There are no survivors.
Flight 5342, operated by PSA – a subsidiary of American Airlines – was on its final approach to Runway 33 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport at around 9 pm local time, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), when it struck the helicopter at low altitude.
Among the passengers were several athletes, coaches and family members returning from the US Figure Skating Championships in Wichita. The list of victims includes Russian world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.
The US Army Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk was carrying a crew of three and no VIPs, according to defense department officials. The exact number of fatalities remains unclear as emergency personnel from multiple agencies continue the search for possible survivors. The US Federal Aviation Authority announced that Reagan Washington National Airport, built on the river Potomac to the south of Washington DC, was temporarily shut down following the incident. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will lead the investigation into the crash.
The H-60 BlackHawk helicopter collided with Flight 5342 that was on its final approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday evening.
The US Army Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk was carrying a crew of three and no VIPs, according to defense department officials.
