A number of individuals are reported to have been killed after an American Airways aircraft collided with a military helicopter whereas touchdown at Ronald Reagan Washington nationwide airport close to the District of Columbia.
American Airways stated on Thursday that 60 passengers and 4 crew members had been on board the jet travelling from Wichita, Kansas, to the US capital.
An unnamed military official confirmed that the helicopter, on a coaching flight, was carrying three troopers who had taken off from Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
Each plane fell into the Potomac River after the collision. Inflatable rescue boats had been launched, and rescuers used mild towers to light up the positioning.
Washington, DC hearth chief John Donnelly stated it was a “extremely advanced operation”.
“The situations on the market are extraordinarily tough for the responders.”
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser additionally instructed a information convention on the airport that rescue efforts had been beneath method to “get well fellow residents”.
Right here’s all the pieces we all know concerning the crash:
What occurred and when?
At about 9pm native time (02:00 GMT), an inbound American Airways plane (flight 5342), manufactured by the Canadian agency Bombardier, collided with a Sikorsky Black Hawk military helicopter because it approached the Ronald Reagan airport, situated alongside the Potomac River southwest of DC.
Earlier than the scheduled touchdown, air site visitors controllers requested the pilots if they might land on Runway 33, and flight monitoring websites confirmed that the pilots adjusted their flight path to align with the request.
Lower than 30 seconds earlier than the crash, an air site visitors controller requested the military helicopter if it may see the arrival aircraft.
“PAT25 [army helicopter], do you’ve a CRJ [American Airlines plane] in sight? PAT25, cross behind the CRJ,” an air site visitors controller stated at 8:47pm (ET on Wednesday, 01:47 GMT on Thursday).
On the time of the crash, air site visitors controllers had been heard saying, “Crash, crash, crash, that is an alert three.”
“I simply noticed a fireball after which it was simply gone. I haven’t seen something since they hit the river. But it surely was a CRJ and a helicopter that hit,” one other controller stated.
Pictures from the midair collision, caught on a webcam on the John F Kennedy Middle for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, confirmed the 2 plane exploding into flames and plummeting into the Potomac River.
Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority CEO John Potter stated the airport would stay closed till a minimum of 11am native time (16:00 GMT).
What do we all know concerning the victims?
The governing skating physique stated a number of of the 60 passengers on board the aircraft had been US ice skaters, members of the family, and coaches coming back from a camp after a determine skating competitors. The three folks on the helicopter had been all believed to be troopers.
CBS Information, citing a legislation enforcement official accustomed to the investigation, stated the our bodies of a minimum of 30 folks had been recovered. US authorities officers haven’t talked about something about survivors.
Russian state information company TASS reported that former determine skating world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov had been amongst these killed.
The Kremlin expressed its condolences to the households of the Russian victims of the accident.
“There have been different of our fellow residents on board. It’s dangerous information at the moment from Washington. We’re sorry and ship our condolences to households and associates,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov instructed reporters.
Whereas no official dying toll has been introduced, US Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, from the place the flight had originated, urged most, if not all, on board had been killed.
“It’s actually onerous once you lose in all probability over 60 Kansans concurrently,” he instructed a information convention at Reagan airport.
Dan DePodwin, AccuWeather’s senior director of forecast operations, instructed the Reuters information company that hypothermia is a priority for anybody who might need survived the crash after the aircraft fell into the river.
“At these frigid water temperatures, the human physique’s core temperature rapidly drops. Exhaustion or unconsciousness can happen in as little as 15 to half-hour,” DePodwin stated.
What’s a Black Hawk helicopter?
The Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter is a navy transport plane utilized by the navy, air drive and coastguard.
The aerospace firm Intergalactic stated the plane can carry 4 crew members and “11 to 14 totally armed troops … or as much as 20 flippantly outfitted passengers”.
What have officers stated?
President Donald Trump questioned the actions of the military helicopter in a submit on Reality Social.
“The helicopter was going straight on the aeroplane for an prolonged time frame. It’s a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the aircraft had been blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or flip,” Trump wrote.
“Why didn’t the management tower inform the helicopter what to do as an alternative of asking in the event that they noticed the aircraft. It is a dangerous scenario that appears prefer it ought to have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!,” he added.
Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth wrote on X that an investigation could be launched “instantly” by the military and the Division of Protection into the reason for the incident.
Todd Curtis, CEO of consultancy agency AirSafe.com, instructed Al Jazeera that the collision was “very uncommon”.
“The Washington nationwide airport, the place this occasion occurred, is among the busiest within the nation and it’s very, very properly managed by air management,” Curtis, a former airline security engineer for Boeing, stated.
“It’s shocking to me that one thing that’s routine for the navy in some way resulted in a tragedy. I think there are a number of issues that needed to go unsuitable for this to occur,” he added.
