US officials switch to recovery effort after air crash near Washington DC
US officials say they do not expect to find any survivors after a mid-air collision near Washington DC, and have switched to a recovery operation as they continue their search of the Potomac River.
A passenger plane carrying 64 people crashed in the river after hitting a US Army helicopter near the American capital on Wednesday evening.
Meanwhile, three US army soldiers were on board the Black Hawk helicopter.
An official said teams had recovered 27 bodies from the plane, and one from the helicopter. A law enforcement source speaking to the BBC's US partner CBS had earlier given a higher number of 30 bodies.
The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, was approaching Ronald Reagan National Airport at around 21:00 local time (02:00 GMT) on Wednesday when the two aircraft collided.
Figure skaters from the US were among those who were on board the aeroplane. Russia has confirmed that some of its citizens were also on board.
Several "athletes, coaches and family members" were returning from a development camp, US Figure Skating, the sport's American governing body, said in a statement.
Russian media said the citizens on the plane were the former world champions Vadim Naumov, 55, and Evgenia Shishkova, 52, who are also married.
The Pentagon said the helicopter, a Sikorsky H-60, took off from Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
An official said it was on a training flight and belonged to B Company, 12th Aviation Battalion from Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
Multiple federal and local agencies are involved in the search effort.
At the scene, the BBC observed debris believed to be from the aircraft floating in the Potomac River. US media says the aircraft split in half when it crashed into the water.
BBC Verify confirmed both the plane and the helicopter were transmitting information about their flight paths and altitude ahead of the crash.
They would have used an on board Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) to detect nearby flights, but Doug Rice, a retired American Airlines pilot, told broadcaster NBC these systems are not effective below 700ft (213m).
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it would investigate the incident, together with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Eyewitnesses told local media they saw sparks and flashes when the mid-air collision happened.
Ari Schulman told NBC Washington what unfolded before him quickly changed from "completely normal" to "very, very wrong".
He said there was "a stream of sparks" underneath the jet.
BBC Transport correspondent Sean Dilley described DC's airspace as "intensely busy".
With two major airports, heavy military traffic around the Pentagon and a Presidential airspace it is "one of the most tightly controlled airspace in the world", he said.
The city's emergency chief John Donnelly said 300 responders on rubber boats were deployed to search for survivors.
"There is wind, there are pieces of ice in the water...and because there is not a lot of light, you are out there searching every square inch of space," he said.
"These are very tough conditions for [rescuers] to dive in."
Getty ImagesUS President Donald Trump said he had been "fully briefed on the terrible accident".
"Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders. I am monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise," he said in a statement.
He also questioned how the incident could have happened, writing on TruthSocial that it "should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!"
Takeoffs and landings have been halted at Washington National as emergency personnel respond to the incident, the airport wrote in a post on X.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, whose appointment was only recently confirmed said "there will be a review of what happened here tonight".
He said the government will take "appropriate action if necessary" to alter flight paths near Ronald Reagan airport. Flights have been diverted to Dulles International Airport, about 28 miles (45km) away.
Federal aviation authorities and the US Congress have launched investigations into the incident.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom expressed his "deep sorrow" and said the airline had sent a team to Washington DC, and he will be travelling there too.