There are no survivors in the midair collision between a US Army Blackhawk helicopter and a passenger jet in Washington DC, a fire official said. Local media reported 28 bodies have been recovered from the Potomac River.
“At this point we don’t believe there are any survivors,” Washington Fire Chief John Donnelly told a news conference at Reagan National Airport, outside the US capital. “We are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation.”
The air traffic controllers warned the US Army helicopter it was on course to collide with a passenger jet, with audio captured from the deadly accident ending in audible gasps from those in the control room.
In the deadly mid-air collision on Wednesday night, the helicopter struck the Bombardier plane operated by an American Airlines subsidiary as it was approaching for landing at Reagan National Airport.
After a “fireball” explosion, both aircraft shot into the icy Potomac River.
“Pat 2-5 do you have the CRJ in sight?” a controller asked, using the call sign for the Black Hawk helicopter, asking if it could see the airplane.
“Pat 2-5, pass behind the CRJ,” the controller requested.
Gasps could then be heard moments later, with one voice asking “tower, did you see that?”
“I just saw a fireball and then it was just gone. I haven’t seen anything since they hit the river. But it was a CRJ and a helicopter that hit,” another air traffic controller said after the crash.
The airplane would have had the right of way if it was cleared to land, Kyle Bailey, a pilot and aviation expert, told Fox News.
With inputs from AFP
