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At least 18 bodies have so far been recovered from the Potomac River in Washington DC after an American Airlines passenger jet collided with a US military Blackhawk helicopter as it was making its final approach to land at Reagan National Airport (DCA) on Wednesday night.
American Airlines flight AA5342 was operated by wholly owned subsidiary PSA Airlines under the American Eagle brand and was in the last few minutes of its flight from Wichita, Kansas (ICT) when the accident occurred at around 9:48 pm on January 29.
There were 60 passengers onboard the CRJ-700, along with two pilots and two flight attendants. Three military personnel were onboard the Blackhawk helicopter, which was on a routine training mission at the time of the accident.
Flight AA5342 was on approach to land on Runway 33 at Reagan National Airport when the US military Sikorsky H-60 helicopter started flying towards the plane. Air traffic controllers asked the pilot of the Blackhawk to ‘visually separate’ from the American Airlines plane, but a short time later, the collision occurred.
American Airlines chief executive Robert Isom said the efforts of the entire company were “focused entirely on the needs of our passengers, crew members, partners, first responders, along with their families and loved ones.”
Isom, along with an American Airlines ‘Go Team,’ has rushed to Washington, DC, as part of its first response. The carrier has set up an emergency toll-free number at 800-679-8215 for anyone concerned about loved ones who may have been on the airplane.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a short statement that investigators from its Go Team had already arrived at the accident scene. A media briefing is expected to take place on Thursday.
In a short statement, the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA), which represents crew members at PSA Airlines, said: “Our hearts are heavy for all those involved in this tragic incident and for all those affected by this incident.”
“Whenever tragedy touches one member of our airline family, it impacts us all. We love you all, and we are with you.”
U.S. Figure Skating says that several members of its team, including athletes, coaches, and family members, were onboard the American Airlines plane after attending a development camp in Kansas.
“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families in our hearts,” the association said in a statement.
Mateusz Maszczynski honed his skills as an international flight attendant at the most prominent airline in the Middle East and has been flying ever since... most recently for a well known European airline. Matt is passionate about the aviation industry and has become an expert in passenger experience and human-centric stories. Always keeping an ear close to the ground, Matt's industry insights, analysis and news coverage is frequently relied upon by some of the biggest names in journalism.