A tragic mid air collision between an American Airlines plane with 64 onboard and a military helicopter on Wednesday night led to a devastating crash in the Potomac River, according to officials.
Authorities cited by the Washington Post, several bodies had been recovered from the sea.
According to the publication, no survivors have been located as of yet.
The U.S Army claimed in a statement that it could “confirm that the aircraft involved was an Army UH-60 helicopter based in Fort Belvoir, Virginia.”
There hasn’t been a fatal passenger aviation disaster in the United States since February 2009, but a string of near-misses in recent years has sparked severe safety concerns.
The U.S Federal Aviation Administration said a PSA Airlines CRJ700 regional jet collided mid-air 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 rescue 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 take-offs and landings had been halted as emergency personnel responded to an aircraft incident.
US President Donald Trump said in a statement that he had been “fully briefed on the terrible accident which just took place at Reagan National Airport”. “May God bless their souls,” he added.
“Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders. I am monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise.”
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was gathering more information on the 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.”
American Airlines said it would provide more information as it became available to the company.
Over the last two years, a series of near-miss incidents have raised concerns about US aviation safety and the strain on understaffed air traffic control operations.
FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker stepped down on January 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 US was in 2009 when all 49 people aboard a Colgan Air flight died when the plane crashed in New York state. One person also died on the ground.
