Passenger Plane and Helicopter Collide in Washington with 67 Onboard... Trump Says "No Survivors"

At the White House press conference: "A true tragedy"
Passenger plane and military helicopter collide and crash into river the previous night
Transportation Secretary: "It was absolutely preventable"

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on the night of the 29th (local time) that there are "no survivors" in the collision accident between a passenger plane and a military helicopter near Washington D.C. This accident is expected to be recorded as the worst U.S. aviation accident in 16 years since the Colgan Air crash in 2009.

At a press conference held at the White House on the 30th, President Trump called it a "true tragedy" and expressed his condolences to "all those who suddenly lost such precious souls."

At around 8:53 p.m. the previous night, a PSA Airlines passenger plane, a subsidiary of American Airlines, approaching Ronald Reagan Airport near Washington D.C. for landing collided in midair with a U.S. Army Black Hawk (Sikorsky H-60) helicopter conducting flight training. Both aircraft subsequently crashed into the nearby Potomac River.

Fire authorities reported that all 67 people aboard the passenger plane and helicopter are presumed dead. The passenger plane, which departed from Wichita, Kansas, was carrying 60 passengers and 4 crew members, while the helicopter had 3 military personnel on board. It was confirmed that the passenger plane included former and current figure skaters, including Russian 1994 World Figure Skating Champion Evgenia Shushkova and her husband Vadim Naumov.

John Donnelly, Chief of the Washington D.C. Fire Department, said at a press conference held that morning, "At this point, we believe there are no survivors from this accident," adding, "We are transitioning from rescue operations to recovery (of bodies) at this time."

Chief Donnelly stated that 27 bodies were recovered from the passenger plane and one from the helicopter.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy emphasized at the same conference that the weather was clear at the time of the accident and that this accident was absolutely preventable.

The collision between the passenger plane and the helicopter occurred during air traffic control coordination. It is known that the accident happened shortly after the controller warned the helicopter to be cautious of the passenger plane. The airspace where the accident occurred is one of the busiest and most complex air routes in the United States, crowded with numerous aircraft.

According to the Associated Press, "Federal authorities and aviation experts have long expressed concerns about the increasing number of near-miss situations between aircraft," adding, "The collision on Wednesday night occurred in one of the most strictly controlled airspaces in the world, just 3 miles (5 km) south of the White House and the U.S. Capitol."

Meanwhile, this accident is expected to remain the worst U.S. aviation accident in 16 years. In 2009, Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed near Buffalo, New York, killing 50 people. Since then, there have been no fatal accidents involving civilian aircraft crashes in the United States.