Dozens are feared dead after an American Airlines jet collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter near Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport.
A desperate search operation involving hundreds of first responders is now focused on the nearby Potomac River after both aircraft plunged into the freezing water.
CBS News reports that at least 18 bodies have been recovered so far.
US President Donald Trump questioned the actions of both the military helicopter and air traffic controllers in a post on Truth Social, saying: ‘This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented.’
American Airlines confirmed 64 people were on board the regional passenger jet at the time of the crash, 60 passengers and four crew. There were three soldiers inside the helicopter, an official said.
Worried relatives gathered at the airport have said they are getting more information from press reports of the crash than from officials.
One woman collapsed in tears after telling a member of airport staff: ‘I don’t know if she got on there or not.’
Hamaad Raza told local CBS affiliate WUSA that he was waiting for his wife.
‘She texted me that she was landing in 20 minutes,’ he said. ‘The rest of my text didn’t get delivered. That’s when I realised that something might be up. I’m just praying that someone is pulling her out of the river right now.’
The US Army said in a statement that it could ‘confirm that the aircraft involved in tonight’s incident was an Army UH-60 helicopter out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia’.
There has not been a fatal US passenger airplane accident since February 2009, but a series of near-miss incidents in recent years have raised serious safety concerns.
In 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River, killing 70 passengers and four crew members. Only four passengers and one crew member survived.
A web camera shot from the Kennedy Center in Washington showed an explosion mid-air across the Potomac about 8.47pm local time with an aircraft in flames falling rapidly.
PSA was operating Flight 5342 for American Airlines, which had departed from Wichita, Kansas, according to the FAA.
‘We’re cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board in its investigation and will continue to provide all the information we can,’ American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said in a video statement.
Police said multiple agencies were involved in a search and rescue operation in the Potomac River, which borders the airport.
Dozens of police, ambulance and rescue units, some ferrying boats, staged along the river and raced to positions along the tarmac of Reagan airport.
Live TV images showed several boats in the water, flashing blue and red lights.
The airport said late on Wednesday that all takeoffs and landings had been halted as emergency personnel responded to an aircraft incident.
US President Donald Trump said in a statement that he had been ‘fully briefed on the terrible accident which just took place at Reagan National Airport’.
‘May God bless their souls,’ he added. ‘Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders. I am monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise.’
FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker stepped down on January 20 and the Trump administration has not named a replacement – or even disclosed who is running the agency on an interim basis.
The last deadly major crash involving a commercial airliner in the US was in 2009, when all 49 people aboard a Colgan Air flight died when the plane crashed in New York state. One person also died on the ground.
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