On Jan. 29, American Eagle Flight 5342– a Bombardier CRJ700 operated by PSA Airlines– was set to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when it crashed into a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter.
Both aircrafts dropped down into the Potomac River, killing all 67 people on board– including 60 passengers and four crew members from the plane, along with three soldiers in the helicopter.
The flight took off in Wichita, Kansas while the helicopter was on a training exercise from Davison Army Airfield in Virginia. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are continuously trying to figure out what caused the accident, as the weather was clear at the time of the incident.
Rescue teams are also working to recover bodies and wreckage from the icy water. Among the victims were former world champion figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who were well-known in the skating community.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom shared his condolences and said the airline is fully cooperating with investigators. This crash is now one of the deadliest aviation disasters in the U.S. since 9/11/2001. The event also brings back memories of the 1982 Air Florida Flight 90 crash into the same river.
