Fatalities confirmed after passenger plane collides with Army Black Hawk, source says

What we know now

• A massive search operation is underway after a passenger aircraft carrying 64 people collided midairwith a US Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport outside of Washington, DC, according to aviation and defense officials. About 300 first responders are searching the freezing Potomac River, where the aircraft crashed, the DC fire chief said.

• Fatalities have been confirmed and rescuers have not yet pulled any survivors from the water, a law enforcement source said. The source says the plane is in pieces in the water and the helicopter is in the water nearby. The airport will be closed until at least 11 a.m. ET Thursday, airport officials said.

• The plane, American Airlines Flight 5342 with 60 passengers and four crew members on board, had departed from Wichita, Kansas, according to the airline. Three soldiers were on board the helicopter, which was on a training flight, officials say.

• President Donald Trump called the crash “a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented” in a post on Truth Social.

“Several members” of figure skating community were aboard plane, US governing body says

US Figure Skating, the organization overseeing the sport nationwide, confirmed that “several members” of its community were aboard the American Airlines flight which collided with a helicopter in Washington, DC, Wednesday evening.

“These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas,” the organization said in a statement to CNN.

“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available.”

More than 40 years ago, another plane crashed into the icy Potomac killing 78

The mid-air collision between a passenger plane and military helicopter in DC Wednesday night is reminiscent of a similar disaster that took place 43 years ago.

On January 13, 1982, an Air Florida Flight 90 departing Washington National Airport for Fort Lauderdale struck the 14th Street Bridge before crashing into then ice-capped Potomac River shortly after takeoff.

There were 70 passengers and four crew on board. All of them died, along with four people in vehicles on the bridge.

An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board at the time determined that the accident was caused by multiple failures –– including the crew’s failure to remove excessive ice and snow on the wings and engine of the plane during ground operation.

The investigation held the captain of the flight accountable for failing to reject takeoff even after he was made aware of the unfavorable conditions.