Plane crash in D.C.: Local commercial pilot speaks on deadly crash | FOX 7 Austin

Plane crash in D.C.: Local commercial pilot speaks on deadly crash

Over 60 people are dead after a midair plane crash over the Potomac River near the Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night.

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Deadly plane crash in D.C.

The backstory:

An Army helicopter crashed into a small American Airlines plane before crashing into the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport around 9 p.m. on Wednesday evening.

Authorities reported on Thursday that at least 28 bodies have been recovered from the icy waters of the Potomac River.

The small passenger jet was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members on Wednesday night when the crash happened.

Officials say U.S. figure skaters, coaches, and their family members were a part of the passengers on board returning home from a camp in Wichita.

"We are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. At this point, we don't believe there are any survivors," says Washington D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly.

The crash happened just three miles south of the White House and the U.S. Capitol.

What's next:

The crash is currently under investigation, but President Trump is calling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring a factor in the collision.

"The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative," says Trump.

The National Transportation Safety Board says it is too soon to determine the cause of the collision and will release a preliminary report within 30 days.

Local perspective:

Local commercial pilot John Cyrier says the Potomac River is used as a corridor for aircraft.

"That corridor, or what we'd call a corridor, for the traffic passing by that airport is scheduled over the Potomac. It's over the river for the purpose of not flying over overpopulated areas. So, in this case, I would believe that that safety parameter probably helped in this scenario," says commercial pilot John Cyrier.

He says the pilots of the aircraft may not have been aware of each other.

"There is a lot going on for both pilots. The helicopter pilot was flying in a very busy area. So, there's a lot of activity that they have to pay attention to. Plus, the airliner coming to land. That's the most critical piece of flight and one that takes a lot of attention. There are a lot of lights in the background. And so, when you're looking at lights and things like that, it's hard to discern to see if that's an aircraft or is that just a building light or cars driving by on the freeway," says Cyrier.

The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Tan Radford and previous coverage

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