A passenger jet and Black Hawk helicopter collided mid-air on Wednesday, crashing into the Potomac River, near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. The President confirmed Thursday that no survivors were found. The identities of many victims are still unknown.
American Eagle Flight 5342, a regional jet with 60 passengers and four crew members, was en route from Wichita, Kansas. Meanwhile, the U.S. Army’s Sikorsky H-60 helicopter had three soldiers on board, according to a Defense Department official.
John Donnelly, the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services chief, told reporters at a press conference on Thursday morning that so far 27 bodies have been recovered from the plane and 1 from the helicopter. He said that the efforts at the scene have switched from a rescue operation to a recovery operation.
What happened?
The FAA reported that PSA Airlines Flight 5342, operated by PSA Airlines at the time, collided in mid-air with a Sikorsky H-60 while approaching a Reagan National Airport runway around 9 pm on Wednesday. The plane took off from Wichita, Kansas.
American Airlines, American Eagle Airlines, and PSA Airlines all operate as subsidiaries.
Heather Chairez, media chief for the Joint Task Force National Capitol Region, said that the helicopter involved in this collision was on an exercise flight. It belonged to B Company of the 12th Aviation Battalion, based in Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
The collision was captured by a live stream camera located at the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C. Video shows an explosion near the Potomac River around 8:47 pm Eastern.
What we know of the victims and the search for survivors
D.C. Fire and EMS chief John Donnelly informed reporters at a press conference on Thursday morning that the bodies of 27 people had been recovered. One body was found in the helicopter.
He stated, “We do not believe there are any survivors”, adding that efforts on the scene have changed from a search and rescue operation to an investigation operation.
“It is a complex operation. The conditions are very harsh for the responders, it’s cold and relatively windy”, Donnelly said.
The victims included top figure skaters in Russia and the United States, including six people who had ties with the Skating Club of Boston. The flight was also carrying the athletes Jinna Han, Spencer Lane, their mother Christine Lane, and Jin Han, as well as the coaches Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Schishkova.
Douglas Lane, a Rhode Islander, described his son Spencer Lane as a “force” of nature. He said that Spencer Lane, 16, was only three years old when he began figure skating and has progressed quickly. Douglas Lane described Christine Lane as a creative and caring person who excelled at graphic design, photography, and quilting.
Naumov and Shishkova, a couple, are Russian-born figure skaters who won the 1994 World Figure Skating Championship and had been coaching at the club. They shared a son, Maxim Naumov, who is a competitive skater on Team USA. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed earlier that Naumov and Shishkova were on the flight along with other Russian nationals.
Hashim Raza, the father-in-law of Asra Hussain, said that Asra had just moved to Washington, D.C., where she was working as a consultant. She was returning home after a business trip when the accident occurred. Her father-in-law said that the 26-year-old was a Columbia University and University of Indiana graduate.
Four members of a Maryland-based labor union, the Steamfitters United Association Local 602, were also on the flight, union leaders said in a social media post-Thursday. The union represents heating, air conditioning, refrigeration, and process piping industries in the D.C. Metro area.
Ryan O’Hara, 29, was the crew chief for the helicopter. O’Hara, a father of a 1-year-old son and husband, was described in a post on social media by his local Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.
On the Virginia side, debris and human remains are washing up along the Potomac River.
He said that the plane was broken into pieces and that they were lying in water between 5 to 8 feet deep.
The black box, or one of two data recorders on the plane, was found by a dive team. It wasn’t clear whether it was the cockpit voice recorder or the one that stores data about the plane’s performance.
Divers had some access to an aircraft’s cabin.
Divers have found luggage among other items.
Van Cleave said that the helicopter was upside down but was largely intact.
First major U.S. commercial accident in nearly 16 years
In February 2009, a Continental Airlines flight operated by Colgan Air out of Newark in New Jersey crashed into a home as it approached the Buffalo airport. The plane involved was a Bombardier Q400. In the tragedy, 49 people were killed. Continental Airlines merged with United Airlines back in 2010.
The last major American Airlines accident occurred in November 2001, near John F. Kennedy International Airport. American Airlines Flight No. 587, an Airbus A300, crashed shortly after takeoff killing 265 passengers. The plane was headed for Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The plane crashed at Belle Harbor in Queens, New York City’s borough of Queens.
