WASHINGTON: More than 60 people were feared dead after an American Airlines regional passenger jet collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday and crashed into the frigid Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport.
“At this point we do not believe there were any survivors,” District of Columbia fire chief John Donnelly said at a Thursday press conference.
Donnelly said 28 bodies had been recovered from the river so far, in what was shaping up to be the deadliest U.S. air disaster in more than a decade. “We will work to find all the bodies and reunite them with their loved ones,” he said.
American Airlines confirmed 60 passengers and four crew members were aboard the jet, while U.S. officials said the helicopter was carrying three soldiers on a training flight. Officials told Reuters that helicopter flights had been paused for the Army unit involved in the incident.
Passengers on the flight included ice skaters, family and coaches returning from events in Wichita, Kansas, including Russian-born former world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.
“We have been told that there are no survivors. We mourn with all those who have been impacted,” Wichita mayor Lily Wu said at a news conference.
CBS News reported that a dive team had recovered one of the two data recorders, the so-called black boxes, from the plane.
The midair collision occurred as the passenger jet was approaching 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.
Agencies