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Search efforts are ongoing after an American Airlines flight and a Black Hawk helicopter collided mid-air over Washington DC on Wednesday, sending both aircraft crashing into the Potomac River.
According to BBC, rescuers are working under “extremely rough” conditions, with icy water complicating recovery operations.
The American Airlines jet, a Bombardier CRJ700 operated by PSA Airlines under the American Eagle regional network, was en route from Wichita, Kansas, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members.
The US Army Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter had three soldiers on board. So far, 30 bodies have been recovered, according to a law enforcement source.
The US Figure Skating Association confirmed that “several members of the skating community” were among those on the plane.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said he had been briefed on the “terrible accident” and questioned why the helicopter didn’t “go up or down.”
The Bombardier CRJ700, a regional jet built by the Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier, seats 65 passengers, according to American Airlines. The Black Hawk, manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, is a twin-engine military helicopter capable of carrying up to 12 fully equipped troops in combat configuration.
