Bodies pulled from Potomac River following jet, helicopter crash

WASHINGTON, United States

An American Airlines Regional passenger jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed into the frigid Potomac River after a mid-air collision near Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night, officials said.

CBS News reported that at least 18 bodies had been recovered so far, citing a police official. Two sources told Reuters multiple bodies had been pulled from the water. American Airlines confirmed that 64 people were aboard the jet: 60 passengers and four crew members. Three soldiers were aboard the helicopter, a US official said.

Relatives gathered at the airport said they were getting little to no information from officials about the incident, adding that they were hearing more about the incident from news reports.

One woman told an airport official, “I don’t know if she got on there or not,” in an apparent reference to a passenger on the crashed jet. She then collapsed into tears. Hamaad Raza told local CBS affiliate WUSA that he was at Reagan Airport waiting for his wife.

“She texted me that she was landing in 20 minutes,” he said. “The rest of my text didn’t … did not get delivered. That’s when I realized that something might be up. I’m just praying that someone is pulling her out of the river right now.”

The US Army said in a statement that it could “confirm that the aircraft involved in tonight’s incident was an ArmyUH-60 helicopter out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia.”

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There has not been a fatal US passenger airplane accident since February 2009, but a series of near-miss incidents in recent years have raised serious safety concerns.

In 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River, killing 70 passengers and four crew members. Only four passengers and one crew member survived.

A web camera shot from the Kennedy Center in Washington showed an explosion mid-air across the Potomac about 8:47 pm with an aircraft in flames falling rapidly. PSA was operating Flight 5342 for American Airlines, which had departed from Wichita, Kansas, according to the FAA.

“We’re cooperating with the National Transportation SafetyBoard in its investigation and will continue to provide all the information we can,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said in a video statement.

Police said multiple agencies were involved in a search and rescue operation in the Potomac River, which borders the airport.

Dozens of police, ambulance and rescue units, some ferrying boats, staged along the river and raced to positions along the tarmac of Reagan Airport.

Live TV images showed several boats in the water, flashing blue and red lights.

The airport said late on Wednesday that all takeoffs and landings had been halted as emergency personnel responded to an aircraft incident. US President Donald Trump said in a statement that he had been “fully briefed on the terrible accident which just took place at Reagan National Airport.”

“May God bless their souls,” he added. “Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders. I am monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise.”

FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker stepped down on Jan. 20 and the Trump administration has not named a replacement – or even disclosed who is running the agency on an interim basis.

The last deadly major crash involving a commercial airliner in the US was in 2009, when all 49 people aboard a Colgan Airflight died when the plane crashed in New York state. One person also died on the ground.