If changes aren't made, that near-miss becomes a mid-air collision,” one aviation safety expert said. “Unfortunately, that's what we had last night.”
A regional jet flown for American Airlines Group Inc. collided in a deadly midair crash with a military helicopter as it flew into Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, prompting a search and rescue operation for any survivors in the Potomac River.
More than 60 people were killed when an American Airlines regional passenger jet collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday and crashed into the frigid Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
The airspace around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport has long been problematic due to heavy military and commercial flight activity in the nation’s capital, according to industry insiders.
American Airlines passenger jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport near Washington, D.C. The jet, which was flying from Wichita, Kansas, carried 64 people, while the helicopter had three people on board.
The collision between an American Airlines Group Inc. regional jet and a military helicopter near Ronald Reagan airport in Washington left no survivors on board the two aircraft, authorities said,
The Federal Aviation Administration in a statement said American Airlines Flight 5342, departing from Wichita, Kansas to Washington, collided around 9 p.m. midair while approaching the runway with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter.
A view of emergency response to Wednesday night’s fatal crash of a passenger jet landing at Reagan National Airport and an Army helicopter. The body of the plane was found upside-down in three sections in waist-deep water in the Potomac River.
While officials have not said how many people died or were injured, the crash has already taken an emotional toll on the local communities.
Some experts, politicians and airport managers have been warning of the risks posed by the crowded airspace at Reagan Washington National Airport.
Wednesday night’s crash of an American Airlines commuter plane in Washington is one of the worst disasters for the Fort Worth-based airline in more than two decades.