A commercial aircraft flying from Wichita, Kansas crashed into the Potomac River in Washington, DC Wednesday night after colliding with a military Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport. Authorities reported that all 67 people in the crash were killed.
The plane carried 60 passengers and four crew. Three soldiers were aboard the helicopter. John Donnelly, chief of D.C. Fire and EMS said at a Thursday morning briefing that all passengers aboard the plane which collided with the Army helicopter are feared dead. On Friday morning, Vito Maggiolo, a spokesman for the Washington fire and emergency department, reported 41 bodies recovered from the wreckage.
“We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” Donnellly said. “At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the collision happened around 9 p.m. as the plane was approaching Runway 33 of the Reagan National Airport. The plane was found in water that was waist-deep and the aircraft was split into three sections. The wreckage of the helicopter was also found.
Officials are still searching for casualties, but if there are no survivors, the crash would be the deadliest U.S. air crash in 24 years.
The last major U.S. commercial air crash occurred in February 2009 when a Continental Airlines flight out of Newark, New Jersey heading towards Buffalo, New York crashed into a house as it was approaching Buffalo’s airport. 49 people died in the tragedy.
The last major American Airlines crash happened in November of 2001 near JFK International Airport when Flight No. 587 bound for the Dominican Republic crashed shortly after takeoff killing 265 people.
About the crash, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said that there was a “profound sense of grief” shared by all.
“How very sad we are for American Airlines, for the United States Department of Defense and for all Americans for the loss of life that happened with the collision of these aircraft,” Bowser said.
