WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – A massive recovery mission is underway near Washington, D.C., after an American Airlines flight collided with an Army helicopter.
Hundreds of first responders are on scene while the airport remains closed until later Thursday morning.
An American Airlines flight carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an Army helicopter Wednesday night while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C.
Three soldiers were on the helicopter for a training flight.
The crash prompted a large search-and-rescue operation in the Potomac River.
“I want the folks to back home to just know that we care that we love them,” said Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.).
Kansas Senators Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran were on scene since the regional jet departed from Wichita.
“I know that flight. I’ve flown it many times myself,” said Moran.
As investigators try to piece together the plane’s final moments President Donald Trump said he had been “fully briefed on this terrible accident” and, referring to the passengers, added, “May God Bless their souls.”
“You know, when one person dies, it’s a tragedy. But when many, many, many people die, it’s an unbearable sorrow,” said Marshall.
U.S. Figure Skating confirmed some of their athletes, coaches and family members were on the flight returning home from the National Development Camp in Wichita.
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