The Chopper Black Hawk unit was on an annual flight to training expertise, says Hegsetth
Defense Minister Pete Hegsetth addressed the American people after Deadly collision Including the American Airlines plane and a military helicopter outside the National Airport Reagan. Hegsetth says the collision happened while Black Hawk was on an annual flight to training expertise.
“We know on our side that was involved. It was a pretty experienced crew, and she did the necessary annual night estimate,” Hegsetth said in a video that he exclusively received Fox News. “We predict that the investigation will quickly be able to determine if the aircraft was in a quarter at the right height at the time of the incident.”
“It is a tragedy, a terrible loss of life for those 64 souls on that civilian plane. And of course, three soldiers in that black hawk. They are in our prayers, their families and their communities while people are informed,” Hegsetth added.
The efforts in search and rescue can be seen around the place of the wreck in Rijeka Potomac from the National Airport Ronald Reagan Washington, early Thursday morning, January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Va. (Carolyn Kaste/AP Photo)
On Wednesday, around 9:00 pm local time, FAA issued a ground floor station at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after a military helicopter collided with a civilian aircraft transporting 60 passengers and four crew members.
At a press conference on Thursday morning, DC Fire and EMS chief John A. Donnelly announced that almost 30 bodies have been recovered from the place so far. At the moment, the authorities do not believe there are survivors, Donnelly added.
“We took out 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter,” he added. “Despite all these efforts, we are now at the place where we go from a rescue operation to recovery surgery.”
Part of the wreck is viewed as rescue ships searched by the water of the Potomac River after the airport at the National Airport reaches crashed into the Rijeka near Washington, DC, January 30, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser thanked the first answers for doing the “very frigid” river through the night in what began as a search and rescue mission, which is now a recovery mission.
Sean Duffy, who swore hours before the collision, vowed to receive answers on behalf of the family of victims and the American people. Duffy noted that the collision had taken place on a clear night and that both the aircraft and helicopter were in “standard” patterns.
“Safety is our expectation. Everyone who flys in the American sky expects us to fly safely, that when you go to the airport, you arrive at your destination. It didn’t happen last night,” Duffy said. Duffy believes that the evidence so far indicate that the collision could “absolutely” prevent it.
The Wichite Airlines Flight, Kansas, collided in Midair with a military helicopter as he approached the National Airport by Ronald Reagan. According to reports, there were no survivors among the 67 people on both aircraft. (Tasos Cathopodis/Getty Images)
An American figure slider says he was forbidden to fly with a military helicopter
In a blunt social post office, president Donald Trump The collision called a “bad situation that seemed to be prevented.”
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Shortly after the collision, Vice President JD Vance urged people to “utter prayer for all involved.”
