An American Airlines regional jet with 64 people on board collided in midair with a helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The aircraft that was struck is a Bombardier CRJ700. It has nine seats in the first-class cabin, 12 in the Main Cabin Extra premium-economy lite section, and 44 seats in coach, the airline’s website said.
The incident took place at approximately 9 p.m. local time.
A frantic search for survivors underway amidst a multi-agency response to the plane-helicopter collision.
American Airlines immediately issued a statement concerning the incident.
“We’re aware of reports that American Eagle flight 5342, operated by PSA, with service from Wichita, Kansas (ICT) to Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) has been involved in an incident,” American Airlines said on social media. “We will provide information as it becomes available.”
“A PSA Airlines Bombardier 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 Federal Aviation Administration said.
“PSA was operating Flight 5342 as American Airlines. It departed from Wichita, Kansas,’” it said.
Emergency first responders are on the scene and their efforts are complicated by ice and frigid temperatures.
The plane was en route from Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport in Kansas to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia.
The midair collision over the Potomac River was captured in grainy black-and-white video by a webcam at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It shows the moment the helicopter and the passenger plane collided.
The last fatal crash involving a U.S. commercial airline was Colgan Air Flight 3407, which was also operating as Continental Connection Flight 3407, which crashed near Buffalo, killing 50 people, on Feb. 12, 2009.
The most recent American Airlines crash was in November 2001, when an Airbus A300 operating as American Flight Nr. 587 crashed into the Belle Harbor neighborhood of Queens shortly after takeoff, killing 251 passengers.
The authorities have not yet given any information about casualties in Wednesday night’s crash.
A senior official with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation told The Travelist and Frequent Business Traveler that there is no indication of any criminality or terrorism in the crash.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate, the FAA said, with the NTSB taking the lead.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
