UPDATE
A plane collided with an Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport in the US capital, halting all flights and launching a massive rescue operation on the Potomac River. Over 30 bodies were pulled from the icy river.
Letadlo společnosti American Airlines s 60 cestujícími a čtyřmi členy posádky se při přistávání na Národním letišti Ronalda Reagana nedaleko Washingtonu srazilo s armádním vrtulníkem, což vyvolalo rozsáhlou pátrací a záchrannou operaci v nedaleké řece Potomac. Armádní vrtulník byl v té době na cvičném letu a podle úředníků v něm byli tři vojáci.
Casualties have been confirmed and rescuers have not yet found any survivors in the river, a law enforcement source said. A passenger plane is reportedly in pieces in the water and a helicopter nearby. Officials described conditions on the river as cold, windy and difficult.
No casualties were reported in the immediate aftermath of the crash, but all takeoffs and landings from the airport near Washington were halted as law enforcement helicopters from around the region flew over the crash site looking for survivors.
„Je to velmi složitá operace. Podmínky venku jsou pro zasahující extrémně drsné. Pravděpodobně nikdo nepřežil,“ uvedl velitel hasičů a záchranářů John A. Donnelly.
Authorities say several U.S. figure skaters were aboard the American Airlines flight, returning from a training camp. Among the passengers were 1994 Russian world figure skating champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said that all available U.S. Coast Guard resources will be deployed for search and rescue efforts. "We are deploying all available U.S. Coast Guard resources to the search and rescue efforts related to this horrific incident at DCA Airport. We are actively monitoring the situation and stand ready to support local emergency responders." said Noem in the contribution to X.
President Donald Trump on his social network Truth Social He wrote: "The aircraft was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter flew directly at the aircraft for an extended period of time. It is CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the aircraft were blinking, why didn't the helicopter go up or down or turn around. Why didn't the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane. It's a bad situation that looks like it should have been avoided. IT'S NOT GOOD!!!"
Vice President JD Vance on the X platform has challenged his supporters to pray "for everyone involved in tonight's mid-air collision near Reagan Airport. We are monitoring the situation, but for now, let's hope for the best."
The Federal Aviation Administration said the crash occurred around 9 p.m. local time (3 a.m. CST) when a regional jet departing from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a military helicopter on a training flight on approach to the airport runway.
The accident occurred in one of the most tightly controlled and monitored airspaces in the world, just about five miles south of the White House and the Capitol.
Video from a surveillance camera at the nearby Kennedy Center shows two groups of lights corresponding to the planes seemingly merging into a fireball.
The airport said paramedics were responding to an "incident with an aircraft at the airport".
The incident was reminiscent of the crash of an Air Florida flight that crashed into the Potomac River on January 13, 1982, killing 78 people. The crash was attributed to bad weather.
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