A number of individuals are reported to have been killed after an American Airways airplane 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 location.
Washington, DC fireplace chief John Donnelly stated it was a “extremely complicated operation”.
“The circumstances on the market are extraordinarily tough for the responders.”
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser additionally informed a information convention on the airport that rescue efforts had been underneath technique to “get better fellow residents”.
Right here’s the whole lot we all know in regards to 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, positioned 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 airplane.
“PAT25 [army helicopter], do you’ve got a CRJ [American Airlines plane] in sight? PAT25, move 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. Nevertheless it was a CRJ and a helicopter that hit,” one other controller stated.
Photos 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 in regards to the victims?
The governing skating physique stated a number of of the 60 passengers on board the airplane had been US ice skaters, members of the family, and coaches getting 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 regulation enforcement official conversant in 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 unhealthy information at this time from Washington. We’re sorry and ship our condolences to households and buddies,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov informed reporters.
Whereas no official loss of life toll has been introduced, US Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, from the place the flight had originated, recommended most, if not all, on board had been killed.
“It’s actually exhausting once you lose most likely over 60 Kansans concurrently,” he informed a information convention at Reagan airport.
Dan DePodwin, AccuWeather’s senior director of forecast operations, informed the Reuters information company that hypothermia is a priority for anybody who may need survived the crash after the airplane 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 power and coastguard.
The aerospace firm Intergalactic stated the plane can carry 4 crew members and “11 to 14 absolutely armed troops … or as much as 20 calmly outfitted passengers”.
What have officers stated?
President Donald Trump questioned the actions of the military helicopter in a put up 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 airplane 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 airplane. This can be a unhealthy state of affairs 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, informed Al Jazeera that the collision was “very uncommon”.
“The Washington nationwide airport, the place this occasion occurred, is without doubt one of the busiest within the nation and it’s very, very nicely managed by air management,” Curtis, a former airline security engineer for Boeing, stated.
“It’s stunning to me that one thing that’s routine for the navy one way or the other led to a tragedy. I believe there are a number of issues that needed to go improper for this to occur,” he added.
