On Wednesday night (local time in Washington), a plane carrying 64 people He has crashed on the Potocam River, after collise in the air With a military helicopter. The facts of the accident have occurred just before the landing time, while approaching the Reagan National Airport, as local authorities have reported.
For now, at the moment, the search for survivors continues in the Potomac Rivernear the capital of the United States. As reported by the CNN, the FBI Washington Field Office team is helping the efforts to locate victims, Although the task becomes complicated, due to the cold temperature of the water and, obviously, due to the fact of the accident itself.
He Flight 5342 by American Airlines -Operated by the regional airline PSA Airlines- left Wichita, in the state of Kansas, and headed to Ronald Reagan National Airport from Washington – aereopuerto for domestic flights – with 60 passengers and 4 crew on board.
According to the information provided by the Fire Department, the Federal Aviation Agency and the White House itself, the plane has crashed against a military helicopterR in which three officers flew -high -ranking no. It was an instructional flight that had left a military base in Virginia.
The clash caused an explosion
The collision was captured in a video of a live webcam operated by the John F. Kennedy center for the performing arts, which is located A few miles north of the accident site. There were several Washington agencies who said they had received calls on a plane accident about Potomac. The fire emergency department said the plane had crashed in the river.
Confirmed fatalities
The Pentagon has ruled out any other hypothesis and has confirmed that it is an aerial “accident”. However, he has opened a Official Research To determine the causes of this event.
The American television network CBS is informing that 18 bodies of water have been recovered, while the CNN says that, according to the police department sources, There are confirmed fatalities and that still They have not managed to get any survivor of water.
HYPOTHERMIA RISK FOR TEMPERATURES UNDER ZERO
At the moment, there are no official figures of the total number of rescued people, who are submerged in the Potomac River, whose waters are to some 2 degrees below zero. This increases the risk of hypothermia In less than 30 minutes for all those who are submerged.
The scene of the accident is one of the most restricted and congested air corridors in the United States when they are near the White House, the Pentagon and the Capitol. In the area there are three large airports, eleven regional airports and 55 helipuertos.
The critic Trump’s reaction
Meanwhile, the US president, Donald Trump, criticized that the accident would not have been avoided.
“The night was clear, the plane lights were lit, Why didn’t the helicopter go up, down or turn? Why didn’t the control tower tell him what to do instead of asking if he saw the plane? This is a bad situation that seems to have been avoided. It’s not right !!!, “he wrote on his social network, social truth.
Although in a previous statement released by the White House and in a more restrained tone, Trump said he had been informed in detail of what happened. “May God bless your souls. Thank you for the incredible work done by our lifeguards. I am monitoring the situation,” he said.
Air traffic control audio
According to the CNN, an additional air traffic control shows that the helicopter pilot reported that he had a CRJ plane “In sight”, shortly before the collision. No half a minute later, the same frequency of the audio captured the sighs of the controllers when the aircraft collided, followed by the reprogramming of other aircraft to move away from the area. The conversation that reproduces the CNN is as follows:
- Controller: Pat 2-5, do you have the CRJ in view?
- Controller: Pat 2-5, passes behind the CRJ.
- Helicopter pilot: PAT-25 has the plane in sight, requests visual separation.
