'No survivors from jet and helicopter collision in Washington'

Scores of people are feared dead after an American Airlines regional passenger jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter collided and crashed into the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

NBC's Washington affiliate News4 reported that more than 30 bodies had been recovered from the river. US Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, where the flight originated, suggested most if not all of those on board had been killed, Reuters reports. "It's really hard when you lose probably over 60 Kansans simultaneously," he told a press conference at Reagan airport in the nation's capital early on Jan 30.

"When one person dies, it's a tragedy, but when many, many, many people die, it's an unbearable sorrow," he said. "It's a heartbreak beyond measure."
Mr Jack Potter, the president and chief executive of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, emphasised at the same news conference that first responders were in "rescue mode".

American Airlines confirmed 60 passengers and four crew members were aboard the jet. The helicopter, on a training flight, was carrying three soldiers, a US official said.

Passengers on the flight included ice skaters, family and coaches returning from events in Wichita, including Russian-born former world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.

CBS News reported that a dive team had recovered one of the two data recorders, the so-called black boxes, from the plane.

The mid-air collision occurred as the passenger jet en route from Wichita, Kansas, was approaching to land at Reagan. Radio communications between the air traffic control tower and the Black Hawk show that the helicopter crew were aware that the plane was in the vicinity.
The Pentagon said it was launching an investigation.

In a post on Truth Social, US President Donald Trump questioned the actions of the helicopter crew and air traffic controllers.

"The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a clear night, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn't the helicopter go up or down, or turn," Mr Trump wrote.

"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!!!"

American Eagle Flight 5342 was operated by PSA Airlines, an Ohio-based regional subsidiary of American Airlines. The plane was a CRJ-700, the airline said, from a line of regional jets made by Canada's Bombardier, later sold to Mitsubishi.

Air traffic control recordings appear to capture the final attempted communications with the helicopter, call sign PAT25, before it collided with the plane, described as CRJ.

"PAT25, do you have a CRJ in sight? PAT25, pass behind the CRJ," an air traffic controller says at 8.47pm Eastern time (9.47am Singapore time), according to a recording on liveatc.net.

Seconds later, another aircraft calls in to air traffic control, saying: "Tower, did you see that?" - apparently referring to the crash. An air traffic controller then redirects planes heading to runway 33 to go around.

Webcam video of the crash showed the impact between the aircraft and the helicopter, and an explosion lighting up the night sky.

Just after the collision, an air traffic controller can be heard saying over the radio: "I just saw a fireball, and then it was just gone. I haven't seen anything since they hit the river."

The skaters on board were returning from a camp following an event in Wichita, governing body US Figure Skating said.

"We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims' families closely in our hearts," it said.

Russian media said Shishkova and Naumov, who were married and working as coaches, were returning from Wichita with a group of young skaters. Russia's Mash news outlet published a list of 13 skaters, many of them the children of Russian emigres to the US, who it said were believed to have been on the plane.

The Kremlin offered condolences to the families of Russians killed, and said there were no plans for contact for now between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mr Trump.

Washington fire chief John Donnelly said at the news conference that at least 300 first responders were continuing to work on the "highly complex" rescue operation.

"Conditions out there are extremely rough for the responders," he said. "It's cold. They're dealing with windy conditions."

Asked whether there were any survivors, he responded that "we don't know yet".

Hypothermia is a concern for any possible survivors and first responders.

"At these frigid water temperatures, the human body's core temperature quickly drops. Exhaustion or unconsciousness can occur in as little as 15 to 30 minutes," AccuWeather senior director of forecast operations Dan DePodwin said.

Airports authority CEO Potter said the airport would remain closed until at least 11am on Jan 30.

"We're cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board in its investigation and will continue to provide all the information we can," American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said.

In 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River, killing 70 passengers and four crew members. Only four passengers and one crew member survived.

The last deadly major crash involving a commercial airliner in the US was in 2009, when all 49 people aboard a Colgan Air flight died when the plane crashed in New York state. One person was also killed on the ground.