Collision Between American Airlines Flight and Army Helicopter Involves Figure Skating Community
Several members of the U.S. figure skating community were aboard American Airlines Flight 5342 that collided with an Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport, resulting in multiple fatalities and a large search-and-rescue operation.
Passengers on an American Airlines jet that collided with an Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport on Wednesday included several members of the U.S. figure skating community, the sport's national governing body has said.
The passengers included a group of figure skaters, their coaches, and family members returning from a development camp that followed the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.
"U.S. Figure Skating can confirm that several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C.," U.S. Figure Skating stated.
"We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims' families closely in our hearts."
The flight carried 60 passengers and four crew members and collided with the helicopter while landing at the airport near Washington, prompting a large search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River.
There were multiple fatalities, according to a person familiar with the matter, but the precise number of victims was unclear as rescue crews searched for any survivors.
Three soldiers were onboard the helicopter, an Army official reported.
There was no immediate word on the cause of the collision, but all takeoffs and landings from the airport were halted as dive teams scoured the site and helicopters from law enforcement agencies across the region flew over the scene in a methodical search for bodies.
"We are going to recover our fellow citizens," District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a somber news conference at the airport Thursday morning, declining to disclose how many bodies had been recovered.
President Donald Trump stated he had been "fully briefed on this terrible accident" and added, referring to the passengers, "may God bless their souls."
The Federal Aviation Administration reported that the midair crash occurred before 9 p.m. EST when a regional jet that had departed from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a military helicopter on a training flight while on approach to an airport runway.
The collision took place in one of the most tightly controlled and monitored airspaces in the world, just over three miles south of the White House and the Capitol.
Investigators will attempt to piece together the aircrafts' final moments before their collision, including contact with air traffic controllers and a reported loss of altitude by the passenger jet.
Approximately 300 first responders were on the scene. Inflatable rescue boats were launched into the Potomac River from a point along the George Washington Parkway, just north of the airport, and first responders set up light towers from the shore to illuminate the area near the collision site. At least a half-dozen boats were scanning the water using searchlights.
"It's a highly complex operation," said D.C. fire chief John Donnelly. "The conditions out there are extremely rough for the responders."
The last fatal crash involving a U.S. commercial airline occurred in 2009 near Buffalo, New York. Everyone aboard the Bombardier DHC-8 propeller plane was killed, including 45 passengers, 2 pilots, and 2 flight attendants. Another person on the ground also died, bringing the total death toll to 50. An investigation determined that the captain accidentally caused the plane to stall as it approached the airport in Buffalo.
