US Plane Crash: All 67 aboard two aircraft dead, recorders recovered

An American Airlines regional jet collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday (January 29) night in Washington, DC, killing all 67 passengers aboard the two aircraft. While the jetliner carried 60 passengers along with four crew members, three soldiers were on the helicopter.According to reports, the Army helicopter apparently flew into the path of the jet while it was preparing for the touchdown at the Ronald Reagan National Airport, resulting in a mid-air collision.

US President Donald Trump, addressing a White House news conference, confirmed that there were no survivors, calling the crash a “tragedy of terrible proportions.”

Also Read: Washington DC plane crash: Relatives wait outside Reagan National Airport, say it’s absolutely heartbreaking“We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” added John Donnelly, the Washington Fire Chief. Investigation is currently underway to ascertain the exact cause of the accident with search operations being carried out in the freezing waters.

Here’s all that has happened so far.

All about the US Plane Crash

It was around 9 pm local time on Wednesday when the jetliner operating as American Airlines 5342 was on a standard descent to the runway above the nation’s capital. However, the army helicopter just intervened mid-air bursting into flames and plunging into the Potomac River, resulting in the deadly plane crash. Several images from the crash have been caught on the webcam at the John F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts showing the two aircraft exploding and plummeting into the river.

While none of the passengers survived, the list of victims includes a few young figure skaters and people from Kansas. Senator Maria Cantwell stated that the citizens from Russia, the Philippines, and Germany were also killed in the crash.

Also Read: Who is to blame for the DC plane collision

Search operations are being carried out across the freezing waters to recover the remaining bodies with about 300 responders deployed on rubber boats. The teams have recovered over 50 bodies and the efforts will resume Friday morning, CNN reports.

The passenger flight departed from Wichita, Kansas, while the Army helicopter which was a Sikorsky H-60 took off from Fort Belvoir in Virginia for a training flight.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) commenced its first full day of investigation on Thursday, with a preliminary report expected in 30 days. Leading the probe into the collision, the agency has confirmed that the plane flight data and voice recorders known as black boxes have been recovered.

Also Read: Crews in midair crash included 2nd-generation pilot and flight attendant ‘full of life’

“We look at the human, the machine, and the environment. We will look at all the humans that were involved in this accident. We will look at the aircraft. We will look at the helicopter. We will look at the environment in which they were operating. That is standard,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told the media.