Dozens Feared Dead In Washington After Jet, Helicopter Collision

Dozens of people were feared dead after an American Airlines regional passenger jet with 64 people on board and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided and crashed into the frigid Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport.

Officials showed no death toll from Wednesday night’s collision, but U.S. Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, from where the flight was travelling, suggested most if not all those on board had been killed.

“It’s really hard when you lose probably over 60 Kansans simultaneously,” he told a press conference at Reagan airport in the U.S. capital early on Thursday.

“When one person dies, it’s a tragedy, but when many, many, many people die, it’s an unbearable sorrow. It’s a heartbreak beyond measure.”

American Airlines confirmed 60 passengers and four crew members were aboard the jet. The helicopter, on a training flight, was carrying three soldiers, a U.S. official said.

CBS News, citing a police official, said at least 18 bodies had been recovered and reported that a dive team had recovered one of the two data recorders, the so-called black boxes, from the plane.

Two sources told Reuters multiple bodies had been pulled from the water.
The midair collision occurred as the passenger jet, travelling from Wichita in Kansas, was on approach to land at Reagan. Radio communications between the air traffic control tower and the Black Hawk showed the helicopter crew knew the plane was in the vicinity.

The Pentagon said it was launching an investigation.
In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump questioned the actions of the helicopter crew and air traffic controllers on what he described as a clear night.

“This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!,” he wrote.

Air traffic control recordings appear to capture the final attempted communications with the helicopter, call sign PAT25, before it collides with the plane, described as CRJ.

Seconds later, another aircraft calls in to air traffic control, saying, “Tower, did you see that?” – apparently referring to the crash. An air traffic controller then redirects planes heading to runway 33 to go around.

Webcam video of the crash showed the collision and an explosion lighting up the night sky.

“I just saw a fireball, and then it was just gone. I haven’t seen anything since they hit the river,” an air traffic controller was heard saying over the radio.

Reuters/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma