An American Airlines flight arriving at Reagan Airport in Washington collided with a helicopter, after which both the aircraft crashed into the Potomac River. The incident happened in the wee hours of Thursday
The American Airlines Flight 5342 was carrying 64 people, including passengers and crew members, at the time of the crash. At least 28 bodies have been recovered from the river into which both aircraft crashed. Officials said there are likely no survivors from the devastating collision.
At this point we don’t believe there are any survivors,” AFP quoted Washington Fire Chief John Donnelly at a news conference at Reagan National Airport, outside the US capital. “We are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation.”
The military Blackhawk helicopter was carrying three soldiers.
A massive search and rescue operation was launched into the waters of the Potomac River, soon after the crash was reported.
According to some media reports, 18 bodies had been pulled out of the waters. However, an official confirmation on the number of the deceased was awaited.
Later, Reagan Airport aborted all takeoffs and landings as helicopters from law enforcement agencies across the region flew over the scene in search of survivors.
Inflatable rescue boats were launched into the Potomac River from a point along the George Washington Parkway, just north of the airport.
MANY VIDEOS OF REAGAN AIRPORT PLANE CRASH SURFACE
The collision between the American Airlines flight and the helicopter occurred on a warm winter evening in Washington, with temperatures registering as high as 60 degrees Fahrenheit, following a stretch days earlier of intense cold and ice.
Multiple videos on social media showed different angles of the chopper-jet crash.
A video from an observation camera at the nearby Kennedy Center showed two sets of lights consistent with aircraft appearing to join in a fireball.
Air traffic control audio recorded the final moments before and after the crash. Audio from LiveATC.net, a respected source for in-flight recording, captured the final communications between the three crew members of the helicopter – call sign PAT25 – before it collided with the CRJ700 Bombardier jet carrying 64 passengers and crew.
“PAT25, do you have a CRJ in sight? PAT25, pass behind the CRJ,” an air traffic controller said at 8.47 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday (01:47 GMT on Thursday).
Seconds later, another aircraft called in to air traffic control, saying, “Tower, did you see that?” – referring to the crash.
An air traffic controller then redirected planes heading to runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport to go around.
“Crash, crash, crash, this is an alert three,” one of the air traffic controllers can be heard saying in the audio from around the time of the crash.
“I don’t know if you caught earlier what happened, but there was a collision on the approach into 33. We’re going to be shutting down operations for the indefinite future,” another controller remarked.
“Both the helicopter and the plane crashed in the river,” a third air traffic controller can be heard saying.
