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. They had been on a "training flight," a separate military spokesperson said in a statement.
United States passenger plane carrying 64 people crashed into Washington DC's chilly Potomac River after colliding midair with a military helicopter on a nighttime training exercise Wednesday, prompting a major emergency response and the grounding of all flights.
American Airlines, whose subsidiary operated the flight, said "there were 60 passengers and four crew members on board the aircraft. A US Army official said the helicopter involved was a Black Hawk model carrying three soldiers β their status currently unknown.
However, a massive search and rescue operation was in progress, with divers visible as they plunged into the snow-lined Potomac. The Washington Post quoted unnamed sources saying police had started to pull multiple bodies from the water. Witness Ari Schulman described "a stream of sparks" and what looked like a large firework when the collision erupted overhead as he drove home.
It was right about to head over land," he told CNN. I could see the underside of it, it was lit up a very bright yellow, and there was a stream of sparks underneath it," Schulman added.
