Commercial plane and military helicopter collide at Reagan Airport in DC

Jan 29

Ray Bogan Political Correspondent

By Ray Bogan (Political Correspondent), Kaleb Gillespie (Video Editor)

An American Airlines regional jet and a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter collided in midair over Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. Wednesday night Jan. 29, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Multiple agencies responded to look for survivors that may have landed in the Potomac River.

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Sixty passengers and four crew members were aboard the plane, according to American Airlines. Defense officials also told CNN that three people were aboard the Black Hawk helicopter.

In a Thursday morning press conference, Jan. 30, authorities said the mission has switched from rescue to recovery. They believe there are no survivors. As of the time of the press conference, 27 bodies from the plane and one from the helicopter have been recovered.

The Defense Department confirmed the aircraft was an Army helicopter on a training mission out of Fort Belvoir, located 12 miles southwest of Reagan.

The incident led to a full ground stop at the airport. It will remain closed until at least 11 am Thursday. Its main runway is the single busiest in the nation.

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President Trump said he had been fully briefed on the matter.

“May God Bless their souls. Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders,” President Trump said in a statement.

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said the plane was inbound to Washington from Kansas.

The emergency response included helicopters, boats and ambulances as authorities looked for survivors in the water.

The D.C. region has been in a cold spell for the entire month of January. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Potomac had near-freezing temperatures Wednesday night. Rivers in the area have been covered in a sheet of ice that formed in the last two weeks.

An individual without any protective gear can fall unconscious in 15 minutes in those temperatures. They will have an expected survival time of 30 to 90 minutes.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate the crash.