No survivors expected in aircraft collision in Washington D.C., says fire chief

WASHINGTON -- Washington D.C. fire chief said on Thursday that there are likely no survivors in the midair collision of a passenger plane and helicopter near Reagan National Airport Wednesday night.

"We are now at a point where we are 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, chief of the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, told a press conference at the airport Thursday morning.

The American Airlines plane had 60 passengers and four crew members, while three US Army soldiers were onboard the Black Hawk helicopter.

Donnelly said that at 8:48 pm local time (0148 GMT Thursday) last night, the control tower sounded an alert, notifying responders about a reported aircraft crash on or near the airport, noting that about 300 rescuers responded to the accident.

"These responders found extremely frigid conditions. They found heavy wind. They found ice on the water, and they operated all night in those conditions," Donnelly said.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Potomac River was 36 degrees Fahrenheit, roughly 2 degrees Celsius Wednesday night.

"We have recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter," said the fire chief. "The crash area is a little spread out, so we've got some work to do."

At the press conference, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that the helicopter was following a "standard" flight pattern last night and the passenger plane was also on a "standard" approach as it was coming into D.C., without specifying what went wrong before the deadly collision.

Duffy noted that the National Transportation Safety Board will begin analyzing the aircraft in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration.

When asked about President Donald Trump's statement Wednesday night that looks like the accident should have been prevented, Duffy told reporters that "Do I think this was preventable? Absolutely."

Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday night: "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!!!" said Trump.

At the press conference, American Airlines (AA) CEO Robert Isom said American Eagle flight 5342, operated by PSA Airlines, traveling from Wichita, Kansas, to Reagan National Airport, was involved in the accident just before 9 pm local time (0200 GMT Thursday) on its final approach into the airport.

"They collided with a military aircraft on an otherwise normal approach, and at this time, we don't know why the military aircraft came into the path of the PSA aircraft," he said.

The transportation secretary stated that there was no breakdown in communication. When asked whether the plane was aware of the helicopter, Duffy did not answer directly but mentioned that the helicopter was aware of the plane's presence in the area.

Jack Carter, chief executive of Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, the authority that manages the airport, reaffirmed that the airport will reopen at 11 a.m. local time (1600 GMT).

The AA passenger jet carrying 64 on board collided Wednesday night with the army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, prompting a massive search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River.

US Figure Skating said in a statement that a group of figure skaters, along with their coaches and family members, were on the passenger jet returning to Washington, D.C., after the US Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.

An investigation into the accident is underway, led by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

This is the deadliest air travel accident in Washington, D.C. since 1982, when a jet crashed into the 14th Street Bridge shortly after takeoff from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, killing 74 people onboard and four in cars on the bridge. Only five survived.