Washington DC Plane Crash: No Survivors Expected from the Collision – US Official

US officials has disclosed that there are no expected survivors in the mid-air collision between the passenger jet and military helicopter over Washington’s Potomac River on Wednesday evening.

“We are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” Washington Fire Chief John Donnelly, told a news conference at Reagan National Airport.

He also confirmed that 28 bodies had been recovered, including one from the helicopter, and that the operation had shifted from rescue to recovery.

“At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors,” Donnelly said, adding that 28 bodies had been recovered — including one from the helicopter.”

An audio from air traffic controllers revealed repeated warnings to the helicopter to be aware of the passenger jet’s presence, with one controller saying, “I just saw a fireball and it was gone.”

Witness Ari Schulman described seeing “a stream of sparks” overhead, adding, “It looked like a Roman candle.”

President Donald Trump criticized air traffic control on social media, saying, “The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time… Why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn?”

The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded all planes at Reagan National, with operations set to resume at 11:00 am (1600 GMT).

American Airlines’ chief executive Robert Isom expressed “deep sorrow,” while US Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas called the collision “nothing short of a nightmare.”