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| Washington plane crash: officials say no survivors expected amid river recovery | Washington plane crash: officials say no survivors expected amid river recovery |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Bodies of 28 people have been retrieved from Potomac River after collision of passenger jet and military helicopter | Bodies of 28 people have been retrieved from Potomac River after collision of passenger jet and military helicopter |
| No survivors are expected to be found following a mid-air collision of an American Airlines jet and a military Black Hawk helicopter near Washington DC, authorities have said. The bodies of 28 people have already been retrieved by search and rescue teams from the Potomac River. | No survivors are expected to be found following a mid-air collision of an American Airlines jet and a military Black Hawk helicopter near Washington DC, authorities have said. The bodies of 28 people have already been retrieved by search and rescue teams from the Potomac River. |
| The collision occurred at about 9pm on Wednesday as the jet was on approach to land at Reagan National airport from Wichita, Kansas. Operated by the regional carrier PSA Airlines as American Eagle flight 5342, the plane was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, and collided with a US army helicopter with three soldiers onboard, sending both into the river. | The collision occurred at about 9pm on Wednesday as the jet was on approach to land at Reagan National airport from Wichita, Kansas. Operated by the regional carrier PSA Airlines as American Eagle flight 5342, the plane was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, and collided with a US army helicopter with three soldiers onboard, sending both into the river. |
| It was the first fatal commercial airline crash in the US since 2009, according to Sean Duffy, the newly confirmed transportation secretary who was sworn into office the day before the crash. He added that he believed the incident was “preventable”. | |
| The defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, said the helicopter involved carried “a fairly experienced crew” based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia that was conducting a “required annual night evaluation”. | |
| “They did have night vision goggles,” Hegseth said, adding that an investigative team had already been deployed to the crash site and that it would determine whether the aircraft was in the corridor and at the right altitude at the time of the incident. | |
| “It’s a tragedy, a horrible loss of life,” he said. | |
| Donald Trump said on Thursday morning he had been “fully briefed” on the incident, after implying in the hours after the crash that the helicopter crew or air traffic control tower was responsible for the collision. | |
| “The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. 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. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. | |
| “This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!” | |
| More than 300 emergency workers, including divers, deployed to the Potomac, where they faced packed ice and high winds. John Donnelly, Washington DC’s fire chief, said the operation’s objective had shifted from rescue to recovery. | More than 300 emergency workers, including divers, deployed to the Potomac, where they faced packed ice and high winds. John Donnelly, Washington DC’s fire chief, said the operation’s objective had shifted from rescue to recovery. |
| “We don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident,” he told a press conference on Thursday morning. | “We don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident,” he told a press conference on Thursday morning. |
| Donnelly said that the wreckage from the aircraft had been spread out by the wind but that recovery efforts continued and he was confident rescuers could recover all the bodies. Of those found so far, 27 were from the plane and one from the helicopter. | Donnelly said that the wreckage from the aircraft had been spread out by the wind but that recovery efforts continued and he was confident rescuers could recover all the bodies. Of those found so far, 27 were from the plane and one from the helicopter. |
| “We will continue to work to find all the bodies to reunite them with their loved ones,” Donnelly said. “I’m confident that we will do that. It will take us a little bit of time. It may involve some more equipment.” | “We will continue to work to find all the bodies to reunite them with their loved ones,” Donnelly said. “I’m confident that we will do that. It will take us a little bit of time. It may involve some more equipment.” |
| Several of the victims were in Wichita for a development camp hosted by US figure skating, according to the Skating Club of Boston, which released the names of its six skaters, coaches and family members who were onboard the jet. | |
| “Our sport and this club have suffered a horrible loss with this tragedy,” the CEO and executive director, Doug Zeghibe, said on Instagram. “We are devastated and completely at a loss for words.” | |
| Citing Russia’s state-run Tass news agency, Reuters reported that two world champion figure skaters from the country were onboard the plane. | |
| The Bombardier CRJ-700 jet broke into three parts and was in waist-deep water in the Potomac, Duffy said. Both the helicopter and the passenger plane were flying in a “standard flight pattern” on a clear night before the crash and that investigators would work to ascertain how the accident occurred, he added. | |
| Duffy noted that it was not uncommon for military aircraft to be seen in the skies over the nation’s capital, including near Reagan National, which is located across the Potomac River in Arlington, Virginia. | |
| “Safety is our expectation, everyone who flies in American skies expects we fly safely,” Duffy said. “That didn’t happen last night. We will not rest until we have answers for the families and the flying public. You should be assured when you fly, you are safe.” | “Safety is our expectation, everyone who flies in American skies expects we fly safely,” Duffy said. “That didn’t happen last night. We will not rest until we have answers for the families and the flying public. You should be assured when you fly, you are safe.” |
| Muriel Bowser, Washington’s mayor, said that the passengers of the plane included “families from our region, Kansas and across the country. We share a profound sense of grief.” | Muriel Bowser, Washington’s mayor, said that the passengers of the plane included “families from our region, Kansas and across the country. We share a profound sense of grief.” |
| Reagan National airport was closed immediately after the incident, but was scheduled to reopen on Thursday morning. A helpline for family and friends of those potentially affected has been set up by American Airlines – 800 679 8215. | Reagan National airport was closed immediately after the incident, but was scheduled to reopen on Thursday morning. A helpline for family and friends of those potentially affected has been set up by American Airlines – 800 679 8215. |
| “This is devastating,” said Robert Isom, chief executive of American Airlines. “We are all hurting, incredibly.” | “This is devastating,” said Robert Isom, chief executive of American Airlines. “We are all hurting, incredibly.” |