A catastrophic mid-air collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter over the Potomac River near Washington has resulted in at least 28 fatalities, according to officials. The jet, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, was in the process of landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport when the incident occurred. Rescue crews, who have now transitioned to recovery operations, do not anticipate finding any additional survivors. If confirmed, this would be the deadliest U.S. air crash in almost a quarter of a century.
The wreckage of the plane was discovered in three sections, upside down in waist-deep water. The helicopter wreckage was also located. The cause of the Wednesday collision remains unknown, although flight conditions were reported as clear. The jet, originating from Wichita, Kansas, was carrying U.S. and Russian figure skaters among others and was making a routine landing when the helicopter crossed its path.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom stated that the jet collided with the military aircraft during a normal approach to Reagan National. The reason why the military aircraft entered the path of the commercial jet is still unclear. The helicopter was carrying three soldiers on a training flight at the time of the accident.
Images from the scene showed boats surrounding the partially submerged wing and the mangled wreckage of the plane’s fuselage. Among the passengers on the flight were a group of figure skaters, their coaches, and family members returning from a development camp following the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that the crash occurred before 9 p.m. EST in one of the most tightly controlled and monitored airspaces in the world, just over three miles south of the White House and the Capitol. The crash involved a regional jet that had departed from Wichita, Kansas, and a military helicopter on a training flight.
American Airlines Flight 5342 was at an altitude of about 400 feet and a speed of about 140 miles per hour when it experienced a rapid loss of altitude over the Potomac River. The aircraft, a Canadian-made Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine jet, was manufactured in 2004 and can carry up to 70 passengers.
The collision occurred on a warm winter evening in Washington, with temperatures as high as 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The Potomac River was 36 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The National Weather Service reported that wind gusts of up to 25 mph were possible in the area throughout the evening.
Around 300 first responders were on the scene, launching inflatable rescue boats into the Potomac River from a point along the George Washington Parkway, just north of the airport. The U.S. Army identified the helicopter as a UH-60 Blackhawk based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, which was on a training flight.
Reagan Airport was scheduled to reopen at 11 a.m. Thursday, according to the FAA. The FAA had previously announced that the airport would be closed until 5 a.m. Friday.