'No one believed to have survived' in DC helicopter and plane crash

Audio By Carbonatix

D.C. Officials held a news conference Thursday morning after an Army helicopter crashed into an American Airlines plane carrying 64 people at Reagan National Airport.

Officials say that the airplane was found in three different pieces in the Potomac, and the mission has changed from a rescue operation to a recovery operation.

“We do not believe anyone has survived,” Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said. Duffy added that both the helicopter and plane were in a standard pattern, and vows to figure out what went wrong.

“Everyone who flies in American skies expects that we fly safely, that when you depart an airport, you get to your destination. That didn't happen last night, and I know that President Trump, his administration, the FAA, the DOT, we will not rest until we have answers for the families and for the flying public. You should be assured that when you fly you're safe,” Duff said.

An official statement from the Army said that the helicopter collided with American Airlines Flight 5342, while performing a training mission – adding that the FAA, the NTSB and the U.S. Army will be investigating — with the NTSB taking the lead.

President Donald Trump has been briefed and said that it looks like it should have been prevented.

Trump said on Truth Social: “The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane?”