All 64 aboard American Airlines jet feared dead
Arlington, Jan 30: All 64 people aboard an American Airlines jet that collided with an Army helicopter were feared dead in what was likely to be the worst US aviation disaster in almost a quarter century, officials said on Thursday.
At least 28 bodies were pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River after the midair collision Wednesday night when the helicopter apparently flew in the path of the jet as it was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, officials said.
Rescuers were still searching for any sign of the 60 passengers and four crew members, but they did not believe there were any survivors, which would make it the deadliest US air crash in nearly 24 years.
“We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” said John Donnelly, the fire chief in the nation’s capital. “We don’t believe there are any survivors.” The body of the plane was found upside-down in three sections in waist-deep water. The wreckage of the helicopter was also found. Donnelly said first responders on Thursday were searching an area of the Potomac River as far south as the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, roughly 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) south of the airport.
There was no immediate word on the cause of the collision, but officials said flight conditions were clear as the jet coming from Wichita, Kansas, with US and Russian figure skaters and others aboard, was making a routine landing when the helicopter flew into its path.
“On final approach into Reagan National it collided with a military aircraft on an otherwise normal approach,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said. “At this time, we don’t know why the military aircraft came into the path of the … aircraft.”
Three soldiers were aboard the helicopter during a training flight, an Army official said.
Images from the river showed boats around the partly submerged wing and the mangled wreckage of the plane’s fuselage.
Investigators will try to piece together the aircraft’s final moments before the collision, including its contact with air traffic controllers as well as a loss of altitude by the passenger jet. (AP)
Should’ve been prevented: Prez
Washington, Jan 30: As the death toll from the deadly plane crash in Washington continues to rise, US President Donald Trump said that the accident “should have been prevented” and questioned why the authorities failed to inform the helicopter to divert its route.
A mid-air collision over the Potomac River near Washington’s Reagan National Airport has claimed at least 18 lives, as rescue teams continue to search for survivors. The crash involved American Airlines Flight 5342 and a Black Hawk military helicopter.
Taking to his social media platform ‘Truth Social’, Trump posted, “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, 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,” he wrote.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon and the Army had launched an immediate investigation into the crash. Calling the incident “absolutely tragic,” he said that search and rescue efforts were still ongoing and offered prayers for the victims and their families. (IANS)