A passenger plane collided with a military helicopter in mid-air at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Hours after the crash, rescue workers said 67 people had died. "We don't believe there are any survivors," the US capital's fire chief, John Donnelly, said at a news conference.
The American Airlines Bombardier jet, which was flying from Kansas, crashed into the Potomac River. There were 60 passengers and four crew members on board the plane and three soldiers in the helicopter. A group of skaters are believed to be among the victims.
A possible cause of the accident is speculated to be a tragic wrong maneuver by the helicopter pilot. Air traffic control had asked him to keep an eye on the CRJ passenger plane and pass by it. It is not ruled out that the pilot accidentally saw another larger plane approaching and missed the smaller model from Flight 5342, German media point out.
The new US Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, said the plane broke into three pieces. He promised answers about the cause of the crash. The US Figure Skating Association said about 15 members, including athletes, coaches and family members, were on the plane. They were returning from a training camp that was being held as part of the national figure skating championships in Wichita, Kansas.
Two Russian skaters and their coaches were also said to have been on board, the Russian news agency TASS reported. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has since confirmed that former world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were on board. Contrary to initial fears, her son Maxim, also a figure skater, was apparently not on board.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared a corresponding statement from a military spokesman on the online service X. Hegseth spoke of an “absolutely tragic” accident. According to the FAA, the helicopter was a Sikorsky H-60, a model from a family of multi-purpose military helicopters.
President Donald Trump said he had been briefed on the "terrible accident." He later wrote on his social media service Truth Social that the accident "should have been prevented." "Why didn't the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane?" Trump wrote.
"This is a bad situation that seems like it should have been prevented," the president added, followed by the words "not good!!!" (A2 Televizion)
A2 CNN Livestream
MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
