American Airlines jet found upside down and in three pieces after mid-air collision
American Airlines jet found upside down and in three pieces after mid-air collision
Share:
An American Airlines plane was found upside down and in three sections after colliding mid-air with a military helicopter over a major river in Washington DC. A total of 28 bodies - 27 from the passenger plane and one from the helicopter - have been recovered from the Potomac River after the two aircraft fell into the icy waters around 9pm local time (2am UK time) on Wednesday night.
American Airlines flight 5342, which had 60 passengers and four crew on board, was flying into the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport from Wichita in Kansas when the collision took place. Washington crash latest: Follow live updates. The US army Black Hawk helicopter, which had three soldiers on board, was on a training flight at the time.
An initial search and rescue mission to look for survivors became a recovery operation on Thursday morning, Washington DC fire chief John Donnelly said in an update at around 7.30am local time. "We don't believe there are any survivors," he said. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player.
US Figure Skating, the national governing body for the sport in the US, said in a statement that several members of its skating community were on the passenger plane. It said the athletes and coaches were returning home from a training camp in Kansas. Doug Zeghibe, chief executive of The Skating Club of Boston, said he believes 14 skaters who were returning from Kanas were "lost" in the plane crash.
