Near Washington, a tragedy in the skies unfolds over Potomac
An aviation disaster occurred in the United States. A passenger plane collided with a helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport outside of Washington, D.C. American television network CNN obtained recordings from the control tower moments before the tragedy.
CNN obtained recordings of conversations between air traffic control operators. You can hear controllers asking the helicopter if the commercial flight operated by PSA Airlines is in sight.
The air traffic controller said: "PAT 2-5, do you have the CRJ in sight?" He then added, "PAT 2-5 pass behind the CRJ." The recording captured gasps including a loud "oooh" in the background, likely at the moment of the disaster.
The tower then alerted another pilot about what had happened. "I don’t know if you caught earlier what happened, but there was a collision on the approach end of 3-3. We are going to be shutting down operations for the indefinite future if you want to go back to the gate. Highly suggest you guys coordinate with the company. Let me know what you want to do," said the controller.
Thanks to the recording, it's known that another pilot saw the incident and confirmed it to air traffic control. "Yeah, we were on short final, and we saw flares from the opposite side of the Potomac," the pilot said.
"Apparently both aircraft involved are in the river, a search and rescue will be ongoing," the controller concluded.
Plane crash in the USA. There are fatalities
The Bombardier CRJ700 passenger plane belonged to PSA Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines. It took off from Wichita, Kansas, and was set to land in Washington, D.C. American Airlines informed CNN that there were 60 passengers and four crew members on board. Eighteen people died.
CNN reports that the passenger plane, which crashed into the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport, collided mid-air with a Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter during its approach to the runway. This information was provided in a statement by the Federal Aviation Administration.
