In what could prove to be the worst American aviation disaster in decades, a small regional jet carrying around 50 passengers collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over Ronald Reagan airport in Washington, D.C. Wednesday night.
American Airlines Flight 5342 out of Wichita, Kansas was in the process of landing when it collided with the helicopter just before 9:00 p.m. Eastern. Army officials say the helicopter was being used for a “routine” training operation, flying out of Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
Shortly after, all takeoffs and landings were halted.
It is not known how many survivors, if any, there are; American Airlines said Wednesday that the jet, a Bombardier CRJ700, had 60 passengers and 4 crew members. The total crew of the helicopter is not known, but Army representatives say there were at least 3 service personnel aboard.
As of 8:25 p.m. Pacific, there have been no confirmed survivors, though according to MSNBC there are unconfirmed reports that 4 people were pulled alive from the Potomac river. Likely, casualty numbers will be large.
The crash was captured by an Earthcam video camera set up in the vicinity. In the grainy footage, filmed from significant distance away, the helicopter appears to fly rapidly toward the jet as it was landing; the collision then results in a brief, bright explosion.
DC Police said in a statement Wednesday night that along with DC Fire and local emergency medical responders, it is cooperating with multiple federal agencies on search and rescue efforts in the Potomac.
It’s unclear how the collision occurred, especially given that airspace over Washington, D.C. is the most monitored and secure in the United States. But it comes just over a week after Donald Trump, as part of a larger ideological purge of federal employees, ordered a pause on hiring air traffic controllers, and fired the head of TSA and all members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee.