A PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ-700, operating as American Airlines flight AA5342, collided in mid-air with a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk military helicopter while approaching runway 33 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Washington last night (29).
The accident occurred at 20:46 p.m. (local time). Both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River. The PSA Airlines aircraft (N709PS) had taken off from Wichita, Kansas, carrying sixty engers and four crew , while the U.S. Army Black Hawk UH-60 had departed from Belvoir, Virginia, on a training mission with three crew on board.
While on approach to DCA runway 01, the control tower requested flight AA5342 to alter the approach to runway 33. The crew confirmed the change and received clearance to land. The collision occurred approximately 200 feet (60 meters) above the ground, about 0,6 nautical miles (1,1 km) from the runway threshold. Witnesses reported that the aircraft sparked, banked beyond 90 degrees, and crashed into the river.
Following the accident, all approaches to the airport were suspended, and takeoffs were halted. The control tower instructed grounded aircraft to return to the apron and shut down their engines. Rescue teams were mobilized, including helicopters and boats to search the Potomac River.
According to emergency services, the weather conditions reduced the survival time to between 30 and 90 minutes. An alert was issued by the FAA tower, the US civil aviation agency, at 20:48 pm (local time), and around 300 professionals were mobilized for the operations.
As of Thursday morning (30), more than thirty bodies had been recovered, but authorities confirmed that there are no survivors.
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