Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below. Just click on the icons to get to the download page. 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. 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. There has not been a fatal US passenger airplane accident since February , but a series of near-miss incidents in recent years have raised serious safety concerns.
A web camera shot from the Kennedy Center in Washington showed an explosion mid-air across the Potomac around ET with an aircraft in flames crashing down rapidly. 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. 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.
