About 30 bodies have been removed from the wreckage caused by a mid-air crash between a passenger plane and a helicopter in Washington.
The American Airlines regional jetliner was carrying 60 passengers and four crew when it collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport, plunging the aircraft into the Potomac River, Press TV reported.
Washington, DC Fire and EMS Chief, John Donnelly said at a press conference on Thursday that a huge rescue operation had been launched, but no survivors are expected from the crash.
He said first responders worked throughout the night to recover bodies and search for survivors despite the tough working conditions due to the plane falling into the Potomac River.
However, till now the rescue workers had not found any survivors and were able to only recover 30 dead bodies, one of which was from the helicopter.
He said the responders’ operation moved from “rescue” to “recovery” as it became clear that ”no one onboard the plane was likely to survive the crash.”
“At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident.”
News agencies reported that a renowned Russian figure skating couple, who worked as coaches in the US and were traveling with a group of young skaters, had been aboard the American Airlines plane.
The US authorities said the plane broke into three pieces and fell into about 7ft of water in the river alongside the helicopter.
Trump furious, says US in mourning
In his reaction, President Donald Trump said the mid-air collision could have been prevented.
Speculating the cause of the crash, he said, “The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time.”
According to him, the passenger aeroplane had been on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport before the crash.
“It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn? Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane? This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social early Thursday morning.
President Trump addressing the nation Thursday afternoon AFP
However, American Airlines’ chief executive, Robert Eisen, said the cause of the collision is still unknown.
“At this point we do not know why the military aircraft came into the path of the PSA aircraft,” he said, adding that the pilot was “experienced”, with six years at the airline.
The Ronald Reagan airport was closed following the crash.
Meanwhile, experts say numerous safety defects leading to crashes in American-made airliners indicate a decline in production standards in US airplane manufacturing plants.
Boeing, the flagship American manufacturer of commercial airliners, posted a fourth-quarter loss of $3.8 billion on Tuesday amid continued machinists’ strikes and other problems at its plants.
Whistle-blowers’ mysterious deaths
Two Boeing whistle-blowers, who warned about manufacturing defects in its planes, have been found dead in the US after making their revelations.
John Barnett and Joshua Dean both died in mysterious conditions.
