An American Eagle CRJ regional jet and a military helicopter have collided in mid-air near Reagan National Airport, Washington DC.
The American Eagle flight was operating flight AA5342 for American Airlines from Wichita, Kansas and was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members and the Army Blackhawk Helicopter had three crew.
Both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River following the collision and officials confirmed that so far 28 bodies have been recovered from the river and no survivors are expected to be found from either aircraft.
The water temperature of the Potomac River is near freezing.
It is understood that the regional jet was on approach to Runway 33 at Washington’s Reagan National when the collision occurred.
Civilian aircraft are equipped with TCAS, (Traffic Collision and Avoidance System) however the same requirement doesn’t apply to all military aircraft however when operating in civilian airspace they should have been squawking their identity to other aircraft and the tower.
Initial reports indicate that both aircraft were in visual sight of each other shortly before the collision.
US President Donald Trump seems to already placed the blame on the helicopter when he posted on his Truth Social Network. He said: “The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport,” Trump wrote.
“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!!!”
A rescue operation involving over 300 members of the emergency services has now been formally changed to a recovery operation.