Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport Nonetheless Closed After Lethal Crash

Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport (DCA) remained shut down on Thursday morning after an American Airways regional jet fatally collided mid-air with a navy helicopter simply exterior the airport on Wednesday night time. As of early Thursday morning, greater than 500 flights had been canceled out and in of DCA, based on flight tracker FlightAware.

All flights had been halted on the Washington, D.C.-area airport and are not anticipated to renew till at the very least 11 a.m. on Thursday, based on the airport. The airport’s terminals stay open.

“All airport roads and terminals are open,” the airport wrote in a put up on X, previously generally known as Twitter. “Some flights have been delayed or cancelled, so passengers are inspired to test with their airline for particular flight info.”

The incident occurred at about 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday when American Eagle Flight 5342 collided midair whereas making an attempt to land on the airport with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter, based on the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA). The flight was operated on a Bombardier CRJ700 plane by regional service PSA Airways, wholly owned by American, and was headed from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington, D.C.

There have been 60 passengers and 4 crew members on board the American Airways plane, based on a press release from the service. The Related Press studies {that a} navy helicopter, which additionally had a number of passengers on board, was on a coaching flight on the time.

As of Thursday morning, PSA Airways was compelled to cancel greater than 280 flights and American Airways was compelled to cancel a further 165 flights, based on FlightAware.

“First, and most significantly, I’d like to precise our deep sorrow about these occasions,” Robert Isom, CEO of American Airways, stated in a video handle posted to the airline’s web site. “This can be a tough day for all of us at American Airways and our efforts now are centered fully on the wants of our passengers, crew members, companions, first responders, together with their households and family members.”

The Nationwide Transportation Security Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have launched an investigation into the crash, based on the FAA. Isom stated the airline was “cooperating absolutely” with the investigation and “we need to be taught all the pieces we are able to about immediately’s occasions.”

The our bodies of at the very least 28 individuals have been recovered from the frigid Potomac River, and whereas officers are nonetheless trying to find casualties, they don’t anticipate finding any survivors, the AP reported. If true, that might make this the deadliest U.S. air crash in practically 24 years.