Washington’s firefighters and emergency services, John Donnelly, He ruled out this Thursday that there are survivors in the plane crash that occurred last nightin which a Black Hawk military helicopter and a commercial plane from American Eagle were involved.
“At this time we do not believe that there are survivors. We have recovered 27 people from the plane and one of the helicopter,” said Donnelly. The rescue teams, which have worked all night in the icy waters of the Potomac River, have recovered 28 bodies, and now they have gone from a rescue mission to a bodies location, authorities reported.
Yet, This would be the most serious plane crash in the US in almost 24 years.
The 5342 Flight of American Eagle, a regional subsidiary airline of American Airlines, from Wichita (Kansas), made the approach to the Ronald Reagan Airport of Washington when, at 20.48 local time on Wednesday (01.48 GMT), it crashed with a Black Black Black helicopter Hawk in which three people were traveling. On the commercial plane 60 passengers and four crew members were.
Found the remains of the plane and the helicopter
In the same press conference, the US Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, announced that the authorities have located the remains of Both aircraft. Duffy said that the plane made an approximation for a normal landing and that “something has gone badly”, because it is normal that in that area military helicopters share airspace with civil planes.
The secretary explained that the Fuselage of the American Eagle plane was invested and has been found in three different sections in shallow waters. Duffy indicated that the tasks of recovery of the remains will continue throughout the day and that the National Board of Transportation Safety (NTSB, in English), an independent agency responsible for investigating civil transport accidents, will analyze the remains to clarify the causes of the incident.
Last night, when the accident occurred, the weather conditions in Washington were optimal, with clear sky and without strong winds.
Duffy explained that the helicopter “followed a standard pattern” and that the American Eagle plane was also on a normal approach to the airport, although it granted that something happened to cause the accident that the authorities are now investigating.
The Ronald Reagan National Airport of Washington, where the wrecked plane planned to land, closed after the accident, but will open its doors today at 11.00 local time (16.00 GMT), as the authorities announced.
At the time of the accident, the water temperature was four degrees Celsius and there were still ice plates in some areas of the river, which has complicated the rescue work.
