Horrifying footage captured the second American Airways Flight 5432 collided with an Military Blackhawk helicopter exploding in a fiery influence because it approached Ronald Reagan Nationwide Airport Wednesday evening.
A vivid touchdown gentle was seen within the distance as a smaller gentle flew in direction of the airport earlier than the 2 plane collided.
Because the airplane made its method to runway 33, an orange fireball lit up the horizon when the navy chopper collided with the regional jet.
Mild from the explosion ripped via the darkish evening sky earlier than items of burning particles from the aircrafts fell into the Potomac River beneath.
The midair crash was caught on video at round 9 p.m. from an EarthCam perched atop the Kennedy Middle in Washington DC pointing south towards the airport past the Lincoln Memorial.
Flight 5432, a PSA Airways Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet working for the airways, was on ultimate method after its two-and-a-half-hour flight from Witchita, Kansas.
Roughly 60 passengers have been aboard the airplane, Kansas Sen. Dr. Roger Marshall stated on X.
First responders discovered the airplane cut up in two, mendacity in roughly 7 toes of water, based on NBC Washington reporter Curtis Houck.
The helicopter, a UH-60 Blackhawk had flown out of Fort Belvoir, Va. solely 15 miles southwest of Reagan Nationwide Airport, the US Military confirmed to CNN.
Three troopers have been aboard the chopper on the time of the crash.
The navy plane was the wrong way up within the water, Houck added.
Officers haven’t disclosed the variety of casualties.
Rescuers on the Potomac River have begun a mission to get to the crash website within the river with the water temperature round 35 levels.
Reagan Nationwide Airport is the closest airport to the Nationwide Mall – solely 4 miles south in Arlington, Va. – and is the busiest within the DC metropolitan space.
Due to its proximities to the nation’s capital and the prohibited airspace within the space, plane touchdown from the north need to comply with the river down earlier than turning into the airport, based on the Federal Aviation Administration.
Flight 5432 was scheduled to land on runway 33, which faces southeast to northwest.
