Washington DC [US], January 30 (ANI) A mid-air collision occurred between a American Airlines plane and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport outside Washington, DC on Wednesday night at about 9pm (EST). The collision resulted in both aircraft crashing into the Potomac River. US authorities have confirmed that all 67 people are feared to be dead. PSA was operating as Flight 5342 for American Airlines. It departed from Wichita, Kansas. President Donald Trump expressed grief over the loss of lives in the plane crash, calling it a “devastating moment” in the nation’s history.
US authorities have confirmed that all sixty seven people were killed. Sixty passengers and four crew members aboard the passenger flight and the three crew members of the Blackhawk Helicopter were all killed in the crash.
The aircraft crashed in the Potomac River near the vicinity of Reagan National Airport, according to officials. Fireboats are currently on the scene as the response team works to manage the situation, D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services reported. The details of the crash, including the cause and whether anyone was aboard, have not yet been confirmed. Emergency teams are actively engaged in rescue and recovery operations.
DC Fire Department posted the confirmation of the incident on X, “Confirmed small aircraft down in Potomac River vicinity Reagan National Airport. Fireboats on scene.”
Reagan Airport officials said that all takeoffs and landings have been halted at DCA. Emergency personnel are responding to an aircraft incident on the airfield. The terminal remains open.
US Vice President asked citizens to pray for those on board the aircraft, “Please say a prayer for everyone involved in the mid-air collision near Reagan airport this evening. We’re monitoring the situation, but for now let’s hope for the best.”
Senator Ted Cruz said that it was known that there were fatalities but the number was not yet known.
“I am closely monitoring the situation at DCA, and I will receive a briefing from the FAA tomorrow. While we don’t yet know how many on board were lost, we know there are fatalities. Please join Heidi and me in praying for all involved as the search and rescue is underway, ” Cruz posted on X.
US law enforcement oficials say further updates will follow once the cause of the crash is known. (ANI)
US: Plane had “very quick, rapid impact”, says NTSB member on mid-air collision
United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Todd Inman informed that the American Airlines plane had a “very quick, rapid impact” with the US Army helicopter near Reagan National Airport in Washington DC “Right now, we’re going through the debris fields. Nothing we’ve seen would indicate that maybe slides or shoots were deployed. It was a very quick, rapid impact,” NTSB member Todd Inman said in a press briefing.
He also informed that the NTSB received a “very large package of information” from the Federal Aviation Administration. “We received a very large package of information from the FAA at about 3 a.m. I believe, this morning, that is still being reviewed and analysed. I would say there’s a lot more information that usually comes in than that what you may find online, and people might speculate about, and that is part of that overall process where we take the time to get the information correct and to make sure all the parties are engaged, involved, and can fact check that information,” Inman said.
NTSB also assured to investigate every aspect to determine the cause of the deadly collision. “We will look at all the humans that were involved in this accident. We will look at the aircraft, we will look at the helicopter and we will look at the environment in which they were operating in,” NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said.
Acknowledging the impact on families across the United States and abroad, including Russian nationals on board, he assured that efforts would be made to determine the cause of the disaster and prevent such incidents in the future.
Addressing a press briefing on the aviation disaster, Trump said, “Sadly, there are no survivors. This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation’s capital and in our nation’s history and a tragedy of terrible proportions as we grieve for every precious soul that has been taken from us so suddenly. This is really shaking a lot of people, including people from other nations.”
Trump also blamed Democratic Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama for lowering air safety standards.
Trump blamed Obama and Biden for ‘putting’ policy first instead of the safety of the citizens. He emphasised that the job requires people with “superior intelligence.” “Democrats put policy first and they put politics at a level that nobody’s ever seen,” Trump said during the press briefing. “They actually came out with a directive too white and we want the people that are competent,” He added.
“Black Hawk helicopter was flying too high”: Trump on fatal collision
US President Donald Trump claimed that the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with a plane near Reagan National Airport in Washington was “flying well above the permitted altitude.”
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump said that the aircraft had exceeded the 200-foot limit, suggesting that this incident played a key factor in the crash. Sharing a post on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote, “The Blackhawk helicopter was flying too high, by a lot. It was far above the 200-foot limit. That’s not really too complicated to understand, is it???” Meanwhile, more than 40 bodies have been recovered from the Potomac River following the plane crash, officials confirmed to The Hill’s partner station NewsNation.
Recovery divers were focusing on salvaging the aircraft and parts from the Potomac River on Friday as investigators examined the collision, Washington fire officials said, according to The New York Times report.
Notably, a day earlier, The New York Times in a report said that the military helicopter that collided with an American Airlines regional jet on Wednesday night appeared to have been flying too high and outside its approved flight path at the time of the crash.
Citing sources, the report said that the Army Black Hawk helicopter was meant to fly at a lower altitude and in a different area while navigating the congested airspace around Reagan National Airport. Before a helicopter can enter any busy commercial airspace, it must get the approval of an air traffic controller. In this case, the pilot of the helicopter asked the air traffic controller for permission to use a specific, predetermined route that lets helicopters fly no higher than 200 feet and that hugs the bank on the east side of the Potomac River, a location that would have let it avoid the American Airlines plane, The New York Times reported.
The requested route, known as Route 4 at Reagan, was a route familiar to both the air traffic controller and the helicopter pilot. The pilot visually identified the American Airlines plane, and the controller directed the helicopter to follow the assigned route and stay behind the aircraft. However, according to individuals briefed on the situation, the pilot did not adhere to the planned path. Instead of maintaining an altitude below 200 feet, the helicopter was flying above 300 feet and was at least half a mile off course when it collided with the jet. (ANI)
“One of the worst tragedies” US citizens express grief over mid-air plane collision in Washington DC
United States citizens on Thursday expressed grief over the mid-air plane collision near Reagan National Airport in Washington DC in which 67 people are feared to be dead. A local citizen speaking with ANI said that it is one of the worst tragedies to happen in Washington DC. “When the rescue operations were going on here, as you see it right now, it was similar to this. It wasn’t like there was a lot of police. I have seen more police at a traffic stop or at a car accident than I saw here today. But it was really a tragedy… This is one of the worst tragedies to ever happen in the DC area or Arlington in general. It’s really sad to see this happen. I’m praying for the community,” he told ANI.
Another local, Michelle Boudreau, recounted her experience of listening to the incident and called it “heartbreaking.
“We listen to a lot of live air traffic controllers and track flights… Last night I was listening and heard everything happening. It was devastating. We usually come here at least once a month to watch the flights land, track them and listen to the controllers. So it felt very personal because I listened constantly and heard it happen. It was pretty heartbreaking,” she told ANI.
