US officials said on Thursday that there were likely no survivors after an American Airlines passenger jet carrying 64 people collided in midair with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy waters of Washington’s Potomac River.
“We are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” Washington DC Fire Chief John Donnelly told a news conference at Reagan National Airport, the intended destination of the passenger flight.
“At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors,” Donnelly said, adding that 28 bodies had been recovered — including one from the helicopter.
There were no details on the cause of the crash, with transport officials saying both aircraft were on standard flight patterns on a clear night with good visibility.
“Do I think this was preventable? Absolutely,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told the news conference.
Scores of people were feared dead after the regional passenger jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter collided and crashed into the frigid Potomac River.
Officials provided no death toll from Wednesday night’s collision but US Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, from where the flight was travelling, suggested most if not all those on board had been killed.
“It’s really hard when you lose probably over 60 Kansans simultaneously,” he told a press conference at the airport early on Thursday. “When one person dies, it’s a tragedy, but when many, many, many people die, it’s an unbearable sorrow. It’s a heartbreak beyond measure.”
American Airlines confirmed 60 passengers and four crew members were aboard the jet. The helicopter, on a training flight, was carrying three soldiers, a US official said.
CBS News, citing a police official, said at least 18 bodies had been recovered and reported that a dive team had recovered one of the two data recorders, the so-called black boxes, from the plane.
Two sources told Reuters that multiple bodies had been pulled from the water.
The midair collision occurred as the passenger jet, travelling from Wichita in Kansas, was on approach to land at Reagan. Radio communications between the air traffic control tower and the Black Hawk showed the helicopter crew knew the plane was in the vicinity.
The Pentagon said it was launching an investigation.
