Live updates: All passengers feared dead after American Eagle jet and Army helicopter collide and crash into Potomac River
By Marlene Lenthang
Despite a mammoth search-and-rescue operation, Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly said during a press conference early Thursday that there were not believed to be any survivors from the midair collision over the Potomac River.
“We are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” Donnelly said. “At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident.”
The huge operation to rescue 64 people from the wreck of a passenger jet and a military helicopter in the Potomac River is now a recovery operation and no survivors are expected, officials have said.
“We are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. At this point I don’t believe we are going to find any survivors,” Fire and EMS Chief Fire John Donnelly said in a news conference this morning.
At least 28 bodies have been recovered from the wreckage of last night’s crash, he confirmed.
Of those, 27 were from the American Eagle civilian jet and one from the U.S. Black Hawk helicopter. The D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is leading reuniting the bodies with loved ones, and multiple medical examiner offices are working on identifying the victims.
“We will continue to work to find all the bodies and collect them and reunite them with their loved ones,” Donnelly said.
He said authorities are now switching from rescue operation to a recovery operation.
The U.S. Black Hawk helicopter that collided with American Eagle Flight 5342 was performing a training mission at the time, according to Ron McLendon II, the Public Affairs Deputy Director for Joint Task Force-National Capital Region/Military District of Washington.
The helicopter was from Bravo Company, 12th Aviation Battalion out of Davison Army Airfield in Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation. The probe will be done by the NTSB, the U.S. Army and Federal Aviation Administration.
Elite American figure skaters were onboard the flight that suffered a midair collision with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River on Wednesday, the official American body for the sport said early Thursday.
Two Russian world champions were also among the passengers on the American Eagle flight, Russian state media reported.
U.S. Figure Skating said the athletes were returning from a training camp in Wichita, Kansas.
