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US plane crash update: All passengers feared dead as fire chief says 'no one believed to have survived'

In American Airlines plane and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter crash, all passengers are feared dead as the fire chief said that no one is believed to have survived. When the collision occurred, the airport was reported to be busy, with 858 flights scheduled to take off.

Search operation is underway at the crash sight.
Search operation is underway at the crash sight. Image Source : AP
WashingtonPublished: , Updated:

In an American Airlines plane and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter midair crash near the Reagan National Airport outside Washington, DC, all 64 passengers are feared dead, as DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said that there are not believed to be any survivors.  Earlier, the law enforcement sources also said that no survivors were recovered from the river.

"We are now at a point where we're switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. At this point, we don't believe there are any survivors from this accident," Donnelly said in a news conference on Thursday.

American Airlines Flight 5342, a regional jet, which departed from Wichita, Kansas, had 60 passengers and four crew members on board. While it was approaching the airport, it collided with a Black Hawk helicopter, which was on a training mission. Three soldiers aboard the helicopter have also been confirmed dead.

Planes diverted to nearby Dulles International Airport following crash

When the collision occurred, the airport was reported to be busy, with 858 flights scheduled to take off and land at Reagan National Airport on Wednesday, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Following the crash, approximately 19 aircraft that were in the air at the time were diverted to nearby Dulles International Airport, about 20 miles away from Reagan National.

President Donald Trump said he had been “fully briefed on this terrible accident" and, referring to the passengers, added, “May God Bless their souls.”

The Federal Aviation Administration said the midair crash occurred around 9 p.m. EST when a regional jet that had departed from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a military helicopter on a training flight while on approach to an airport runway. It occurred in some of the most tightly controlled and monitored airspace in the world, just over three miles south of the White House and the Capitol.

Investigators will try to piece together the aircraft's final moments before their collision, including contact with air traffic controllers as well as a loss of altitude by the passenger jet.

What does the radio transponder data say?

American Airlines Flight 5342 was inbound to Reagan National at an altitude of about 400 feet and a speed of about 140 miles per hour when it suffered a rapid loss of altitude over the Potomac River, according to data from its radio transponder. The Canadian-made Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine jet, manufactured in 2004, can be configured to carry up to 70 passengers.

(With inputs from agencies)

Also Read | US: 18 dead as passenger jet collides with Army helicopter at Reagan National Airport in Washington

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