President Trump said on Thursday that “there are no survivors” from the horrific mid-air collision between a military helicopter and an American Airlines airplane.
“Sadly, there are no survivors. This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation’s capitol and in our nation’s history and a tragedy of terrible proportions,” Trump said.
WATCH:
President Trump on DCA helicopter-plane crash: “Sadly, there are no survivors. This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation’s capitol and in our nation’s history and a tragedy of terrible proportions.” pic.twitter.com/ZzeXygwpAr
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 30, 2025
Trump confirmed prior statements from authorities, saying they didn’t believe there were any survivors from the tragedy.
Washington’s fire department chief, John Donnelly, reported there have been a total of 28 bodies recovered, and authorities “were switching from a search-and-rescue operation to a recovery operation.”
WATCH:
NOW — DC Fire Chief John Donnelly:
“We don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident. We have recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter … We will continue to work to find all the bodies and collect them and reunite them with their loved ones.” pic.twitter.com/DBf76ynl7l
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) January 30, 2025
Lily Wu, the mayor of Wichita, Kansas, said they were told “that there are no survivors.”
WATCH:
Mayor of Wichita, Kansas Lily Wu says there are likely no survivors in deadly plane crash at DCA. pic.twitter.com/liyQvw4fJh
— FOX 5 DC (@fox5dc) January 30, 2025
From the Associated Press:
All 64 people aboard an American Airlines jet that collided with an Army helicopter were feared dead in what was likely to be the worst U.S. aviation disaster in almost a quarter century, officials said Thursday.
At least 28 bodies have been pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River as recovery operations continue.
BREAKING: Officials believe there are no survivors after the midair collision between a passenger plane and a U.S. Army helicopter in D.C.; at least 28 bodies have been recovered. https://t.co/5EnwkdvlUq
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 30, 2025
“We’ll find out how this disaster occurred and we’ll ensure that nothing like this ever happens again,” Trump said.
WATCH:
“We’ll find out how this disaster occurred and we’ll ensure that nothing like this ever happens again,” President Trump said about the collision between American Flight 5342 and a military helicopter that left no survivors https://t.co/l4mR5fldnc pic.twitter.com/wm6sJJBC9x
— Bloomberg (@business) January 30, 2025
Per USA TODAY:
The crash occurred just before 9 p.m. Wednesday when American Airlines Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, attempted to land and collided in midair with the Black Hawk helicopter. The passenger plane was carrying 64 people, while three service members were aboard the helicopter.
Early Thursday morning, John Donnelly, the chief of Washington’s fire department, said 27 bodies were recovered from the plane and one body was recovered from the helicopter. He said authorities were switching from a rescue mission to a recovery operation.
Officials did not say what caused the collision but described both crews as “experienced” and noted that the helicopter and the plane were following standard flight patterns.
“Everything was standard in the lead-up to the crash,” Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said. “Now, obviously something happened here, but you’ll get more information and more details as this investigation moves forward. We’ll learn what happened.”
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up.
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