An American Airlines regional jet carrying 60 passengers crashed with a military helicopter near Washington D.C. Wednesday evening. The two aircraft collided mid-air and crashed down into the Potomac River at 9 p.m. on Wednesday.
At the time of the crash, the American Airlines regional jet was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members. There were three soldiers onboard the military Black Hawk helicopter, reports CBS News.
First responders on the scene have recovered “at least” 19 bodies from the wreckage of the crash so far. There have been no reported survivors:
American Eagle Flight No. 5242, which was operated by PSA Airlines, collided midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter at around 9 p.m. Wednesday while approaching a runway at Reagan National Airport, the FAA said. The plane had taken off from Wichita, Kansas.
American Eagle and PSA Airlines are subsidiaries of American Airlines.
The helicopter involved in the collision was on a training flight and had belonged to B Company, 12th Aviation Battalion out of Fort Belvoir in Virginia, Joint Task Force-National Capitol Region media chief Heather Chairez told CBS News.
In a statement shared by American Airlines, the travel operator said: “Our concern is for the passengers and crew on board the aircraft. We are in contact with authorities and assisting with emergency response efforts.”
No passengers on the jet have been identified and the military confirmed that there were no senior officials on the helicopter when it went down. However, U.S. Figure Skating issued a statement saying that “several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342,” according to a statement shared with ABC News.
Newly appointed defense secretary Pete Hegseth said that the Army and Defense Department would “immediately” launch an investigation into the events that led up to the collision, reports ABC News. President Donald Trump has also made his thoughts on the collision clear:
“I have been fully briefed on the terrible accident which just took place at Reagan National Airport. May God Bless their souls. 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,” he wrote.
The president followed up with a post on Truth Social that seemed to be probing for further answers regarding the cause of the crash.
“Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane,” he wrote in the post, adding, “This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!”
The search for any survivors continued late into the night, with first responders tackling “extremely rough” conditions, explained District of Columbia fire and emergency medical services chief John Donnelly in a statement.
The crash in D.C follows a tough time for passenger aviation after a plane in Korea crashed while landing, killing 179 people onboard. A DHL cargo plane also crashed at the end of last year amid fears of Russian meddling, and a small plane crashed into a warehouse in California earlier this month.
