American Airlines plane crash: Early indication from the US officials suggested that there were actually no survivors.
The McDonnell Douglas Regional Jet operated by PSA Airlines was reported to have crashed with the US Army Black Hawk helicopter in the icy waters of the Potomac River in Washington while carrying 64 passengers and crew members on Wednesday.
Chief John Donnelly said at the airport news conference that the officials were in a transition from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. “At this point we don’t believe there are any survivors,” he said, adding that at least 28 bodies had been recovered, one of which was from the helicopter.
Reports said the collision occurred during Wednesday afternoon between a regional jet traveling from New York City to Washington and a Black Hawk helicopter with a crew of four returning to Fort Belvoir after a training mission. According to the FAA, the helicopter crashed into the freezing waters of the Potomac River.
American Airlines plane crash: Here are some updates
A PSA Airlines land jet with 64 passengers aboard collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter over Washington around Wednesday and crashed into icy waters of the Potomac River.
Washington Fire Chief John Donnelly expressed that recovery efforts in the river have so far brought in 28 bodies from both aircraft of which there stands little hope for any survivors from the collision, he declared.
Both aircraft were flying on standard route with no implication or invoice of any incident leading to this accident, as per transport officials.
The helicopters went from across the passenger jet. Just as it thought it was there, time air traffic controllers would tell it to pass behind the passenger jet.
Donnelly stated that approximately 300 rescue personnel supported the operation that occurred under challenging weather elements.
Through social media President Donald Trump expressed critical statements about the incident by asking why the helicopter failed to move either vertically or horizontally and why the control tower failed to command the helicopter instead of asking if they saw the plane.
Instead of instructing the helicopter the control tower requested if pilots noticed the aircraft.
The Federal Aviation Administration teams up with the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate the aircraft crash.
“Crash, Crash, Crash”: Scenes From Control Tower Before US Mid-Air Tragedy
When dawn broke at the crash site emergency vessels and inflatables containing diving teams operated their powerful arc lights as they searched through a wide area of the river.
One US passenger jet with 64 people onboard crashed into the Potomac River after a midairollision with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter during nighttime training activities. The airplane approached Washington’s Reagan National Airport for landing at 9:00 PM (0200 GMT) when it had departed from Wichita, Kansas.
The air traffic controller who worked at Reagan National Airport made his last call to the military helicopter only twenty-nine seconds before the crash initiation. “PAT25 do you have the CRJ in sight?” was the message he transmitted.
The helicopter received its next set of instructions with the commander saying “PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ.” Washington plane crash survivors without survivors is what the fir chief and officials believe happened according to their statements.
The helicopter did not respond to anything during the communication attempt. The two aircraft struck each other at that very instant. The airman witness to the collision immediately broadcasted “Tower did you see that?” on the radio network.
The last communications between the military helicopter crew members were obtained from LiveATC.net, a repository for in-flight recording.
According to news agency Reuters, an air traffic controller could be heard saying, “Crash, crash, crash, this is alert three.”
American Airlines confirmed that 60 passengers and four crew members were on board the Bombardier CRJ-700 being operated by its regional subsidiary PSA Airlines.
The helicopter, according to the U.S. Army, was on a “training flight” when it collided with the airplane. The Black Hawk was carrying three soldiers.
Authorities immediately launched a search-and-rescue operation on a large scale that included emergency response teams with personnel numbering over three hundred.
United States President Donald Trump issued an official statement praising the victims, but soon took to social media to criticize the air traffic control.
“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,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“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? This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!”
Immediately following the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) initiated a temporary halt of all flight activities at the Reagan National Airport. Normal operations are expected to resume at the earliest by 11:00 A.M. (1600 GMT) Thursday.
American Airlines CEO issued a video statement expressing “deep sorrow” over the incident, while US Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas described the crash as “nothing short of a nightmare.”
An advancement in aviation technology allows a civilian airline to sometimes collide with military aircraft in one of the more pronounced and precise observable airspaces in-country.
The airspace over Washington is known to be prohibited because of congestion. During the day, civilian traffic often flies at low altitude through the city, while military and government helicopters fly through the airspace at various heights.
The presence of several types of aircraft types present in such reduced airspace is currently the focus of the investigation.
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