‘Am I safe if our own government can’t keep our helicopters safe? Who are the ones here to protect us?’ one flyer said. Distraught families of the victims of a deadly midair crash were rushed through Ronald Reagan National Airport in a heartbreaking scene on Thursday, the morning after a tragic crash in the skies above the nation’s capital killed 67 people. The usually bustling airport was filled with investigators from the FBI, Homeland Security, the National Transportation Safety Board, and local and state police, as a few concerned passengers searched for their flights.

Just hours earlier, authorities announced that the rescue operation for American Eagle Flight 5342 had turned into a recovery — there were no survivors. So far, officials have pulled 27 bodies from the Potomac River, which had been partly frozen in the days leading up to the crash. Tara Murphy-Dority, a D.C. resident who works in tech defense, said she was mourning both for her city and her colleagues in the military.

“It's very somber in Washington, D.C. right now. My heart goes out to the victim's families, and the entire United States Army,” she told The Independent as she looked for her flight to Atlanta. “I would say that the men and women who serve this country are the best in the world at what they do, and it's just a heartbreaking tragedy.”. A clear night in Washington, D.C., was lit up by a flash at around 9 p.m. Wednesday, when a passenger jet flying from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a Black Hawk military helicopter. The plane was descending into the Arlington, Virginia, airport when the incident occurred.

Boats were still searching the river for wreckage on Thursday morning as the airport began to open up again. Some passengers wondered how such a tragedy could happen in one of the busiest and most policed airports in the United States. The Pentagon is located just two miles away. “My question is how is it that a military helicopter runs into an airplane if they’re supposed to be extremely well trained?” said one woman who didn’t want to be identified out of fear of repercussions from her employer.

“I didn’t sleep last night. I am stressed,” she added, her hands shaking. She had traveled to Washington, D.C., from Ohio on Sunday and was flying back Wednesday. “I just want to know did something rogue happen? Am I safe if our own government can’t keep our helicopters safe? Who are the ones here to protect us?”. U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters regularly fly along the Potomac River without issue, leaving many stunned over how such an accident could occur.

At a press conference held in Terminal One of the airport, newly sworn-in Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said the three soldiers on board the helicopter were engaged in a training session. The aircraft is from Fort Belvoir, Virginia, a military aviation hub. The helicopter knew there was a plane in the area, Duffy said he thought the incident was “absolutely” preventable. Washington’s Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said responders were enduring “extremely frigid conditions,” before announcing that the operation had turned from a rescue mission to recovery.

“We don’t believe there are any survivors,” he said. By 11 a.m., ticket desks began to open up again and passengers were lining up with their bags. Kathy Maxemchuk, a 45-year-old architect from San Francisco who was in town on business, was trying to navigate her way through press and police to find her 1 p.m. flight. “It’s been a little disconcerting since getting to the airport and seeing all the press and the police and all of that.

“It definitely makes it more real and obvious. I'm not feeling worried about my flight necessarily, I know it was just a tragic accident.”. Larkin Callaghan, a 41-year-old pharmaceutical company worker, said the news of the deaths was “devastating.”. “I was expecting delays, obviously,” she said. “Whatever we need to do to support the families that are impacted by this, of course, that's the priority. So if I'm taking it as it comes.