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Hundreds of first speakers plunge into freezing water in search of survivors after a passenger plane collided with an open -air army helicopter at Reagan national airport near Washington, DC , Wednesday.
Emergency staff are carrying out research and rescue efforts in the Potomac river, where the plane and the helicopter crashed, the authorities warning that the operation will probably take days.
Sources of application of the law said that there were confirmed deaths, although they did not specify the number, and that no survivor has been recovered so far.
There were 64 people aboard the plane and the three soldiers of the army helicopter, according to the mayor of DC Muriel Bowser.
Here is what we know about the accident, which experts warn could be the deadliest air disaster involving an American passenger plane for decades.
The passenger plane was the American Airlines 5342 flight, operated by PSA Airlines, traveling from Wichita, Kansas, at Reagan National Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a press release.
The plane, a regional jet Bombardier Crj700, was to terror at the airport outside of Washington, DC, Wednesday evening when it collided outdoors with open -air The American army helicopter as the track approaches, according to the FAA and defense officials.
The flight files showed that the plane should land around 9 p.m. local time. DC police said they received calls at 8:53 pm about “a plane crash over the Potomac river”.
The Blackhawk helicopter of the American army was on a training flight at the time of the incident, the media chief of the Capitol region of the Capitol of the joint Capitol, Heather, Heather, told CNN.
The 12th aviation battalion, based in very Belvoir in Virginia, provides a transport of helicopters and “technical rescue support” to the national capital region. We do not yet know where the Black Hawk took off before the collision.
All takeoff and landings were interrupted at Reagan National Airport until 11 a.m. on Thursday, officials announced.
A video of the crash filmed by Earthcam shows what seems to be the helicopter and the plane colliding in the sky, resulting in an ardent explosion.
Ari Schulman told CNN that he returned home when he witnessed the collision.
“At the start, I saw the plane and it looked good. Normal. He was just about to head towards the earth, perhaps 120 feet above the water, “said Schulman. A few seconds later, the plane “was bank to the right … beyond 90 degrees”.
“I could see the underside. He was illuminated a very lively yellow, and there was a flow of sparks below “and then everything became dark, he said.
The airspace above the Reagan national airport is among the busiest in the country, and passenger planes frequently share the airspace with helicopters.
Audio of the air traffic controller obtained by CNN from air traffic control operators captured Liveatc.net, ordering the helicopter to pass behind the passenger’s plan.
A air traffic controller said: “Pat 2-5 Do you have CRJ in sight?”
The controller then said: “Pat 2-5 go behind the CRJ.”
Additional air traffic control audio shortly before the collision captures the helicopter pilot saying: “Pat 2-5 has planes in sight, ask for visual separation.”
Less than 13 seconds later, the audio then captured audible dressings, including an “oooh” strongly in the tower, at the time of the accident.
American Airlines told CNN that there were sixty passengers and 4 crews aboard the flight.
The American army helicopter had a three crew and did not transport any VIP, according to an American defense official. High army officials often use Black Hawks to travel to the Washington, DC region.
Officials would not say if someone had been confirmed dead at a press conference early Thursday.
American Airlines has set up a center at the airport and published a hotline for family members and passenger friends aboard the flight.
There were people at the airport “who were there to collect relatives,” said CEO of Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Jack Potter.
Hamaad Raza, whose woman was on the plane, told the subsidiary of CNN Wusa that he had received a text from her to say that she “landed in 20 minutes”, but her messages stopped delivering.
“I’m just praying that someone withdraws her from the river right now while we are talking about,” Raza told Wusa.
“Several members” of the American craft community was on board the flight after having participated in events related to the US Fat Skating Championships in Kansas, confirmed the National Director of Sport.
Two Russian artistic skaters were also on board, reported the Russian state media Tass, citing a source.
Kansas senator, Jerry Moran, described the accident as “a very personal circumstance” for Kansans. “We are going to know the people who are on this flight, know their family members,” said Moran at a press conference.
About the first 300 speakers are fighting against dark, cold and windy conditions while they are looking for possible survivors in the Potomac river at almost freezing temperatures.
“It is a very complex operation. Conditions are extremely difficult, “said John Donelly, DC Fire and EMS on Thursday at a press conference.
The river section in which the divers work is about 8 feet deep, dark and troubled with floating pieces, said Donelly, adding research efforts will likely take days.
Temperatures in the river currently oscillate at around 35 degrees, according to the National Weather Service, which raises fears of hypothermia and other undesirable effects.
Sudden immersion in such icy water, known as cold shock, can trigger immediate physiological responses such as uncontrolled dressings, rapid breathing or hyperventilation, according to the National Weather Service.
The dangers degenerate with prolonged exposure. Hypothermia begins when the central body temperature falls to 95 degrees, a process that can start this cold in the water in a few moments.
In water at 35 degrees, individuals can lose dexterity as little as three minutes, with an unconsciousness occurring within 15 to 30 minutes, according to the meteorological service. Survival times in such conditions should vary between 30 and 90 minutes.
President Donald Trump said he was “fully informed” of the collision and “monitored the situation and would provide more details as they arise”.
“I was fully informed of the terrible accident that has just occurred at Reagan National Airport. May God bless their souls. Thank you for the incredible work accomplished by our first speakers. I monitor the situation and I will provide more details as they arise, “Trump said in a statement.
In a separate article on Truth Social, Trump described the crash as “bad situation which seems to have been prevented”. It was not clear on the information on which his publication was based.
Vice-president JD Vance asked for prayers for “all the people involved in the outdoor collision near Reagan airport” in a position on social networks.
“We monitor the situation, but for the moment we hope the best,” he wrote on X.