A plane carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington D.C. on Wednesday evening.
A large search-and-rescue operation has been launched in the nearby Potomac River, but the precise number of the casualties and survivors remains unclear.
What to Know:
- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has confirmed that a "CRJ700 regional jet collided in midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on approach to Runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 p.m. local time."
- The commercial aircraft was an American Airlines flight originating from Wichita, Kansas.
- Three soldiers were onboard the military Blackhawk helicopter, an Army official said.
- The helicopter was on a training flight at the time of the collision, an official told The Associated Press.
- All takeoffs and landings at the airport have been halted until at least 11 a.m. ET on Thursday.
Follow below for the latest developments:
02:59 AM EST
Donald Trump issues response to crash: 'May God bless their souls'
President Donald Trump issued a response following the collision, saying that he had been "fully briefed on the terrible accident."
"May God Bless their souls. Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders. I am monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise," Trump said.
The president also shared a post about the incident on Truth Social. "The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time," he wrote.
"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!!!"
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