Last night, an American Airlines jet with 64 people on it that was about to land at the Reagan National Airport near D.C. collided with a military helicopter that was carrying three people. There was an explosion and both aircraft plunged into the cold, icy Potomac River. There was an immediate and massive response from emergency crews and divers who searched for survivors overnight, but as of this morning, officials said they believe there are no survivors.

Many people on the American Airlines plane were figure skaters from the U.S. and Russia who participated in the U.S. Figure Skating Championship in Wichita, Kansas and an associated camp. There were young skaters, their parents, and coaches on the plane.

As of this morning, officials said they’ve recovered 28 bodies from the plane and one from the helicopter.

The American Airlines plane was a smaller-type plane called a Bombardier CRJ-700 and the helicopter was a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk. The helicopter was on a training flight.

There is a video that shows the mid-air collision, although it was shot from a considerable distance and in nighttime conditions. You can see the American Airlines jet’s bright light in the sky and as it is moving, you can see a smaller speck of light, which was the military helicopter, moving towards the plane. Both aircraft keep on moving towards each other until they hit each other, and there is a bright light — an explosion — and you can see debris falling down.

News reports released audio between an air traffic control tower and the helicopter prior to the collision. The tower told the helicopter if they could see the plane and to pass behind it. After the collision, people were gasping in the tower.

There was a similar flight disaster in the same area in 1982. An Air Florida jet with 79 people on it crashed just after taking off from the airport, hitting a bridge over the Potomac River. It caused 78 fatalities (including motorists and a person who tried to help with the rescue). Only five people on the plane survived.

The Reagan airport, which has an abbreviation of DCA, is a very busy airport that’s very close to the heart of D.C. Whenever I went to D.C., as a student or for work, I frequently flew to DCA. Many Gallaudet students know and love to use DCA because it’s a short drive or metro train between the university and the airport. There are always many planes coming and going, as well as military or police aircraft crisscrossing it. This tragic incident is sure to bring calls for changes in air traffic in the area.


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