WASHINGTON: An American Airlines regional passenger jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed into the Potomac River after a midair collision near Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night, officials said.
The Washington Post said multiple bodies had been pulled from the water. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas said on social media that “we know there are fatalities,” though he did not say how many.
An American Airlines source told Reuters that 60 passengers, along with two pilots and two crew members were scheduled to be on the flight. Three soldiers were aboard the helicopter, a US official said.
There has not been a fatal US passenger airplane accident since February 2009, but a series of near-miss incidents in recent years have raised serious safety concerns.
NBC reported that four people had been pulled alive from the Potomac River.
A web camera shot from the Kennedy Center in Washington showed an explosion mid-air across the Potomac around 2047 ET with an aircraft in flames crashing down rapidly.
The US Federal Aviation Administration said a PSA Airlines regional jet collided midair with the helicopter while on approach to Reagan.
PSA was operating Flight 5342 for American Airlines, which had departed from Wichita, Kansas, according to the FAA.
Police said multiple agencies were involved in a search and rescue operation in the Potomac River, which borders the airport.
Dozens of police, ambulance and recuse units, some ferrying boats, staged along the river and raced to positions along the tarmac of Reagan airport. Live TV images showed several boats in the water, flashing blue and red lights.
The airport said late on Wednesday that all takeoffs and landings had been halted as emergency personnel responded to an aircraft incident.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was gathering more information on the incident.
American Airlines said on social media that it was “aware of reports that American Eagle flight 5342, operated by PSA, with service from Wichita, Kansas (ICT) to Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) has been involved in an incident.”
American Airlines said it would provide more information as it became available to the company.
Over the last two years, a series of near-miss incidents have raised concerns about US aviation safety and the strain on understaffed air-traffic-control operations.
FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker stepped down on Jan. 20 and the Trump administration has not named a replacement — or even disclosed who is running the agency on an interim basis.
The last deadly major crash involving a commercial airliner in the US was in 2009, when 49 people aboard a Colgan Air flight crashed in New York state. One person also died on the ground.
American Airlines jet collides with helicopter near Washington’s Reagan Airport
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American Airlines jet collides with helicopter near Washington’s Reagan Airport
- A web camera shot from Kennedy Center in Washington showed an explosion mid-air across the Potomac around 2047 ET with an aircraft in flames crashing down rapidly
- There has not been a fatal US passenger airplane accident since February 2009, but a series of near-miss incidents in recent years have raised serious safety concerns
EU should consider forming combined military force: defense chief
- Kubilius floated creating a “powerful, standing ‘European military force’ of 100,000 troops” that could eventually replace US forces
- Trump has heightened fears among NATO allies over Washington’s reliability by insisting he wants to take over Greenland
BRUSSELS: EU countries should weigh whether to set up a combined military force that could eventually replace US troops in Europe, the bloc’s defense chief said Sunday.
EU defense commissioner Andrius Kubilius floated creating a “powerful, standing ‘European military force’ of 100,000 troops” as a possible option to better protect the continent.
“How will we replace the 100,000-strong American standing military force, which is the back-bone military force in Europe?” he asked in a speech in Sweden.
The suggestion comes as US President Donald Trump has heightened fears among NATO allies over Washington’s reliability by insisting he wants to take over Greenland.
Worries over Trump’s commitment to Europe have already spurred countries to step up efforts to bolster their militaries in the face of the threat posed by Russia.
Ideas about establishing a central European army have floated around for years but have largely failed to gain traction as nations are wary of relinquishing control over their militaries.
The US has pushed its European allies to increasingly take over responsibility for their own security, and raised the prospect it could shift forces from Europe to focus on China.
“In such times, we should not run away from the most pressing questions on our institutional defense readiness,” said Kubilius, a former Lithuanian prime minister.
In his speech Kubilius also advocated for the creation of a “European Security Council” of key powers — including potentially Britain — that could help the continent take decisions over its own defense quicker.
“The European Security Council could be composed of key permanent members, along with several rotational members,” he said.
“In total around 10-12 members, with the task to discuss the most important issues in defense.”
He said the first focus of such a body should be trying to change the dynamics in the war in Ukraine to ensure that Kyiv does not end up losing.
“We need to have a clear answer — how is the EU going to change that scenario?,” he said.
“This is the reason why we need to have a European Security Council now!“
