At least 18 bodies have been recovered from the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., after a passenger jet carrying 64 people collided midair with a military helicopter on Wednesday night, US media reports confirm.
A large-scale search and rescue operation is underway, with about 300 emergency responders working in challenging conditions to locate any survivors. Washington Fire Chief John Donnelly described the rescue efforts as “extremely rough,” while Mayor Muriel Bowser vowed that crews would remain at the crash site for as long as necessary.
The Bombardier aircraft, operated by an American Airlines subsidiary, was on its final approach to Reagan National Airport around 9:00 p.m. (0200 GMT) when it collided with a Black Hawk helicopter carrying three US Army soldiers on a training flight.
Eyewitness Ari Schulman, who was driving nearby, recalled seeing a “stream of sparks” before the jet lost control.
“Initially, I saw the plane, and it looked fine, normal. It was right about to head over land. Three seconds later, it banked sharply to the right, and I could see the underside of it lit up in bright yellow with sparks flying underneath. It looked like a Roman candle,” Schulman told CNN.
Several athletes, coaches, and officials from US Figure Skating were reportedly aboard the ill-fated flight. Among the victims were Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, a Russian figure skating couple who won the 1994 World Pairs Championship. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed their presence on the plane, stating that “unfortunately, these sad reports are being confirmed.”
Former President Donald Trump weighed in on the incident, first offering condolences to the victims before questioning the actions of air traffic controllers.
“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 was a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“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 just asking if they saw the plane? This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered the temporary grounding of all flights at Reagan National Airport, which is expected to remain closed until 11:00 a.m. (1600 GMT) Thursday.
American Airlines’ chief executive expressed “deep sorrow” over the tragedy, while Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas called it “nothing short of a nightmare.”
Aviation experts remain baffled as to how a passenger jet equipped with modern collision-avoidance technology could have collided with a military aircraft in the heavily monitored airspace over Washington, D.C. The area is known for its dense traffic, with commercial airliners, military helicopters, and government aircraft frequently operating in close proximity.
This latest disaster brings back painful memories of the 1982 Air Florida Flight 90 crash, where a Boeing 737 struck the 14th Street Bridge and plunged into the Potomac River, killing 78 people.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has launched an investigation into the midair collision, as authorities work to determine what went wrong.
