A senior fire official stated that all 67 individuals on the American Airlines aircraft and the Army helicopter that crashed near Washington, DC earlier today are presumed dead.
According to news reports, a minimum of 28 bodies have currently been retrieved from the Potomac River, where both planes crashed following the collision.
The incident, one of the most lethal in American history, occurred when a commercial aircraft was trying to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport and crashed in midair with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter. Three Army members were on the helicopter.
“We are now at a point where we’re switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident,” John Donnelly, Washington’s fire chief said while addressing a presser.
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The passenger jet’s body was discovered inverted in three fragments in water up to the waist. The remains of the helicopter were also discovered.
The quest for more victims and additional debris is in progress.
Authorities have not yet determined the cause of the crash.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are on the scene of the accident, diligently trying to reconstruct the events that preceded the tragic incident.
The Federal Aviation Administration reported that the collision occurred just after 9 pm (IST) and involved a passenger jet leaving Wichita in Kansas, along with a military helicopter participating in a training exercise.
The accident happened as the jet was nearing the airport runway, slightly more than three miles from the Capitol and the White House.
Pictures from the river revealed rescue boats encircling a partly submerged wing, along with what appeared to be the mangled remains of the airplane’s fuselage.
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During his official briefing following the mid-air crash involving a US Army helicopter and an American Airlines flight, US President Donald Trump attributed the decline in air safety standards to diversity hires endorsed by Obama and Biden, according to AFP.
“I put safety first. Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first,” Trump said. “They actually came out with a directive: ‘too white.’ And we want the people that are competent,” he said.
The President additionally mentioned that he was designating an acting Federal Aviation Administration administrator, Chris Rocheleau.
