What we know after plane collides with helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport
WASHINGTON — Sixty-four people aboard a commercial airliner perished Wednesday evening after it collided with a military helicopter midair near Reagan Washington National Airport.
Both of the aircrafts — an American Eagle jet and Army Black Hawk — are in the Potomac River. The Black Hawk had three personnel onboard.
The collision occurred shortly before 9 p.m. ET.
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President Donald Trump called the deadly collision a “a tragedy of terrible proportions” and confirmed there were no survivors as he addressed reporters in the White House briefing room Thursday morning.
Trump added that a “massive search-and-rescue mission was underway throughout the night, leveraging every asset at our disposal, and I have to say, the local, state, federal military, including the United States Coast Guard in particular, they’ve done a phenomenal job.”
“This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation’s capital and in our nation’s history and a tragedy of terrible proportions as one nation, we grieve for every precious soul that has been taken from us so suddenly,” Trump said.
