Washington DC [US], January 30 : After the midair collision over the Potomac River in Washington, authorities said that they no longer expect to find any survivors, and efforts have shifted to a recovery mission, according to DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly, according to a report by CNN.
Notably, a press briefing was held at Reagan National Airport, where Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser addressed the deadly collision involving an American Airlines passenger plane carrying 64 people and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter with three soldiers on board.
"We are now at a point where we're switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. At this point, we don't believe there are any survivors from this accident," Donnelly said in a news conference on Thursday.
Donnelly confirmed that recovery teams had retrieved 28 bodies from the passenger jet and one from the military helicopter.
Donelly further said that officials are confident in recovering the bodies of those killed in the plane crash. He said that all 67 people are believed dead 64 aboard the passenger jet and three on the US Army Black Hawk helicopter.
Meanwhile, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy provided an update on the wreckage, explaining that the American Airlines jet, which crashed into the Potomac River following the collision, had broken into multiple pieces. He noted that the aircraft's fuselage had been found overturned and split into three sections, submerged in waist-deep water, with recovery operations continuing.
"The fuselage of the American Airlines plane was inverted. It's been located in three different sections. It's in about waist-deep water, so that recovery is going to go on today," Duffy said.
"As that recovery takes place of the fuselage of the aircraft, NTSB is going to start to analyse that aircraft, partner with the FAA with all the information we have to get the best results possible for the American people," Duffy added.
During the press conference, the CEO of American Airlines seemed to place blame for the midair collision between the American Airlines passenger jet operated by PSA and a US Army Black Hawk on the helicopter, CNN reported.
"At this time, we don't know why the military aircraft came into the path of the PSA aircraft," American Airlines CEO Robert Isom.
A mid-air collision occurred between a American Airlines plane and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport outside Washington, DC on Wednesday night. The collision resulted in both aircraft crashing into the Potomac River.
The aircraft involved in the collision included American Airlines Flight 5342, a regional jet with 60 passengers and four crew members on board. The flight had departed from Wichita, Kansas, and was approaching the airport when it collided with a Black Hawk helicopter on a training mission. The three soldiers aboard the helicopter were also confirmed dead. As of the latest reports, the wreckage from both the plane and the helicopter was found submerged in the icy waters of the Potomac River.
The collision occurred at a time when the airport was busy, with 858 flights scheduled to take off and land at Reagan National Airport on Wednesday, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. In the wake of the incident, approximately 19 aircraft that were in the air at the time were diverted to nearby Dulles International Airport, about 20 miles away from Reagan National. The airport was closed, and all flights were grounded for the night, a decision expected to remain in effect until at least 11 am ET Thursday, airport officials had confirmed.
The crash sent shockwaves through the local community and beyond, with President Donald Trump offering condolences to the families of the victims, reported CNN.
"This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented," Trump posted on Truth Social.
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