Cintia A. , Lebledparle.com
Many families in America are mourning the loss of their loved ones following a plane crash that claimed the lives of all passengers on board. According to BBC News, on the night of Wednesday PSA Airlines jet operating as American Airlines 5342, carrying 64 passengers including the crew collided midair with a US Army helicopter that had three people on board. The planes crashed into the Potomac River, near Ronald Reagan airport, were the passenger plane broke into multiple pieces and sunk several feet into the river, while the helicopter ended up upside down on the water.
Following the tragic incident authorities confirmed there were no expected survivors and according to BBC News, officials announced on Wednesday night that they were switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth described the three soldiers on board the helicopter as a fairly experienced crew and said the aircraft was on an annual proficiency flight, performing a night evaluation with the crew using night-vision goggles.
BBC News also reported that the traffic control recordings published online suggested that a controller tried to warn the helicopter about the approaching American Airlines plane in the seconds before the collision. Transportation secretary Sean Duffy equally affirmed the helicopter pilot seem to be aware of the plane, but a crash a still occured moments later.
Among passengers on board the aeroplane were figure skaters from the US and Russian including former world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov. The group comprised of coaches and family members who were returning home from a development camp in Kansas.
As of Thursday, 28 bodies have been recovered from the crash. Officials have equally retrieved the data recorder from the jet and will investigate possible contributing factors to the crash, including human error. Late Thursday, the black boxes of both flights were found and transported to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)labs who intends to release preliminary reports in 30 days.
