An American Airlines regional passenger jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter collided mid-air near Reagan Washington National Airport, resulting in a crash into the Potomac River. Multiple fatalities are reported. The incident has raised concerns about US aviation safety and the strain on air traffic control operations.
An American Airlines regional passenger jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed into the Potomac River after a midair collision near Reagan Washington National Airport today, officials said. The Washington Post said multiple bodies had been pulled from the water. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas said on social media that “we know there are fatalities,” though he did not say how many.
An American Airlines source told Reuters that 60 passengers, along with two pilots and two crew members were scheduled to be on the flight. Three soldiers were aboard the helicopter, a U.S. official said. There has not been a fatal U.S. passenger airplane accident since February 2009, but a series of near-miss incidents in recent years have raised serious safety concerns.A web camera shot from the Kennedy Center in Washington showed an explosion mid-air across the Potomac around 2047 ET with an aircraft in flames crashing down rapidly. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said a PSA Airlines regional jet collided midair with the helicopter while on approach to Reagan. PSA was operating Flight 5342 for American Airlines, which had departed from Wichita, Kansas, according to the FAA. 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 recuse 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.American Airlines said on social media that it was “aware of reports that American Eagle flight 5342, operated by PSA, with service from Wichita, Kansas (ICT) to Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) has been involved in an incident.”Over the last two years, a series of near-miss incidents have raised concerns about U.S. aviation safety and the strain on understaffed air-traffic-control operations. 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 U.S. was in 2009, when 49 people aboard a Colgan Air flight crashed in New York state. One person also died on the ground.
AIR CRASH WASHINGTON DC AMERICAN AIRLINES HEELCOPTER FATALITIES FAA AVIATION SAFETY
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