‘Tough’ conditions responders are facing in rescue effort after American Airlines flight collided mid-air with army helicopter
Topics: US News, Washington
Joe Yates
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Anadolu
Topics: US News, Washington
As 300 first responders rushed to the Potomac River in aid of the 67 people involved in the horrific mid-air collision between a plane and a military chopper, officials have provided an update on the 'tough' conditions they faced.
At 8.47pm ET yesterday (January 29), a PSA Airlines aircraft, which is owned by American Airlines, crashed into a BlackHawk helicopter that was carrying three US soldiers taking part in a training expedition.
According to CBS News, at least 19 bodies have been recovered as a desperate search and rescue operation has continued through the night and into the morning.
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Flight 5342 - which was carrying 60 passengers and four crew - took off from Wichita in Kansas, with the collision taking place as the pilot prepared to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport.
Hundreds of responders are on the scene with divers and crews on boats scouring the Potomac River, where parts of the plane are submerged up to 8ft below the surface.
Ice has set in parts of the river, Matthew Schanck, an International Maritime Search and Rescue & Emergency Response Expert, told the BBC.
"There's ice in the river, it's particularly cold and that makes it very challenging to [rescue] crews.
"There's not a lot of time to really try and locate any survivors and rescue them because of the cold."
Washington Fire and EMS (Emergency Medical Services) Chief John Donnelly gave an update as he spoke to reporters at a press conference in the early hours of the morning at an eerily quiet Reagan airport.
Speaking about the difficulties the divers face, he said: “The challenges are access. The water that we’re operating in is about 8ft deep.
"There is wind, there is pieces of ice out there. So it’s just dangerous and hard to work in.
"And because there’s not a lot of lights, you’re out there searching every square inch of space to see if you can find anybody.
"Divers are doing the same thing in the water. The water is dark, it is murky, and that is a very tough condition for them to dive in."
Other officials have described the body of water as a 'big patch of black'.
This is still to be determined, with the black boxes from both the helicopter and plane vital to establishing what was going on in the build up to the fatal collision.
All we know at this stage is that the passenger plane and military helicopter collided as the plane was approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport's Runaway 33 to land.
US Figure Skating, which is the American governing body for the sport, has announced that a number of athletes and coaches were on board the fateful flight.
Ice skating coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov are said to have been among those skaters on board, according to Russian state media.
No survivors have been located at this stage as the rescue mission continues.
The CEO of American Airlines, Robert Isom, issued a response to the incident as he explained he was travelling to DC with a specialist team to aid the investigation.
In a statement, the businessman said: "This is a difficult day for all of us at American Airlines and our efforts now are focused entirely on the needs of our passengers, crew members, partners, first responders, along with their families and loved ones.
"I know that there are many questions. At this early stage, I'll not be able to answer all of them, but I do want to share the information I have at this time."
President Trump described the incident as a 'bad situation' that 'should have been prevented'.
"The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport," he wrote on Truth Social.
"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!!! What a terrible night this has been. God bless you all!"
Air traffic control audio has been released from the incident detailing the harrowing moment dispatchers witness the crash.
"The accident happened in the river. Both the helicopter and the plane crashed in the river," a man on the audio says. "It was probably out in the middle of the river. Um, 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 CR-J [the type of plane] and a helicopter that hit, I would say a half-mile of the approach."