Flight 5342, consisting of a Canadian-made Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine jet, had left from Wichita, Kansas, en route for the nation’s capital when it collided with the helicopter as it prepared to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport shortly before 9pm local time (2am UK).
The flight was operated by PSA Airlines, a regional airline based in Ohio.
The US Army said the helicopter was a UH-60 Blackhawk based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
The helicopter was on a routine training flight.
The airport has been ordered to be closed until 5am on Friday.
Did anyone survive the collision?
At a press conference held in the early hours of Thursday, DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said boats were quick to find one of the aircraft in the river.
'Unknown if anyone survived' as plane carrying 64 collides with US army helicopter
Read More“We don’t know if there are survivors,” he said.
“We will re-evaluate where we are with a rescue operation in the morning, when we get a better sense of it,” he says.
US media reports have quoted local officials to say there have been fatalities.
Rescue boats search the waters of the Potomac River (Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP)Were any warning givens to the aircraft?
A controller is heard asking the helicopter: “PAT25 do you have the CRJ in sight,” in reference to the passenger aircraft.
Seconds later, another aircraft calls in to air traffic control, saying, “Tower, did you see that?” – apparently referring to the crash.
Gasps are heard in the recording at the moment of the crash, CNN reported.
In a post on Truth Social he wrote: “The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time.
“It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane. This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD.”
Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser addresses the media (Photo: Ken Cedeno/Reuters)High-powered lights were set up on the sides of the Potomac River to help the rescue effort.
Washington DC fire chief John Donnelly said at least 300 first responders were continuing to work on the “highly complex” rescue operation.
“It’s cold. They’re dealing with windy conditions.”
When was the last time something like this happened?
At the time there was a snowstorm.
The plane, Air Florida Flight 90, struck several cars before breaking into pieces and tumbling into the Potomac River. A total of 78 people were killed.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( The key questions over the Washington DC plane crash )
Also on site :