An extensive search for bodies in the Potomac River continues after US officials confirmed there were no survivors after an American Airlines passenger jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter collided midair in Washington DC.
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Key Events
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Two Chinese nationals killed in crash: State media in Beijing
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'The heart of her family': Another crash victim identified by friends and family
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One black box recovered from American Airlines flight
What we know about the air disaster in Washington
Good morning from Washington DC.
The team in the local ABC News bureau here has been working to find out what we can about the crash involving a passenger plane and an army helicopter at Reagan National Airport (DCA).
So far we know:
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American Airlines flight AA5342 from Wichita, Kansas, was approaching the airport when it collided with US Army Black Hawk flight PAT25.
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The crash happened just before 9pm on Wednesday night, local time.
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Sixty passengers and four crew were on board the passenger jet. American and Russian champion figure skaters, who had been competing in Wichita, were among the passengers.
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A three-person crew was in the chopper, performing a training exercise with night-vision goggles, according the the US defence secretary.
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Both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River. Authorities believe no-one survived.
We will bring you more information as we confirm it.
Both 'black boxes' recovered from downed plane
Both the cockpit voice recorder and a flight data recorder have been recovered from the plane, according to a spokesperson for the safety board.
Both devices, commonly known as black boxes, have now been taken for lab analysis.
Recovery efforts continue on Potomac River
Recovery efforts are ongoing after authorities confirmed there were no survivors of the Washington, DC plane crash.
Two Chinese nationals killed in crash: State media in Beijing
State media in Beijing has reported two Chinese nationals were on board American Airlines flight AA5342.
The embassy said the Chinese citizens were "among the victims in the mid-air collision of a passenger plane and a helicopter near Reagan National Airport", according to the Xinhua news agency.
AFP
'The heart of her family': Another crash victim identified by friends and family
We're learning more about some of the victims from the Washington DC air collision.
US Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin has confirmed that a family friend, Wendy Shaffer, was on board American Airlines Flight AA5342.
Ms Shaffer, who lived in Charlotte in North Carolina, devoted her life to her family, including her two small children, ages 1 and 3, according to her friends.
A crowdfunding page has also been set up to raise money for her family, which described her as a "radiant soul".
"Wendy was the heart of her family — a loving partner to her husband and a nurturing, joyful mother to her children," the fundraiser's organisers wrote.
"Her boys were her greatest pride and joy, and she dreamed of watching them grow into the amazing individuals she knew they would become."
Reporting with Reuters
Reagan National Airport 'complex' to navigate for pilots
Pilots have to manage several different variables when trying to land or fly in the vicinity of Reagan National Airport, according to pilot and flight instructor Kenneth Byrnes.
Dr Byrnes said a multitude of factors could make it difficult to approach the airport safely.
"It's very complex," he told ABC News Channel.
"There's a lot of things moving, there's a lot of parts and pieces and aircraft … on different frequencies.
"It's very unique because the national capital is right there, and there needs to be security in place and a very unique approach coming down that river."
Governor of Kansas says focus should be on families and victims
Speaking in Wichita, the city where the doomed flight departed from, the governor of Kansas was asked whether she thought it was appropriate for President Donald Trump to speculate on diversity initiatives.
"All of our attention ought to be focused right now on the families and victims," said Democratic Governor Laura Kelly.
"Leave the system issues and the causes to the folks who are trained very well to do this and then come up with those answers and figure out exactly what went wrong."
The governor said she proudly watched "all levels of government immediately come together" in the aftermath of the tragedy.
'We don't know what we know just yet'
It may be some time before the cause of the crash is fully revealed, according to US investigators.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chair Jennifer Homendy said the organisation was taking a "very careful approach".
"We look at facts … and that will take some time," she said.
NTSB board member Todd Inman also said there would be no immediate conclusions.
"We don't know what we know just yet," he said.
"We do not know enough facts to be able to rule in or out human factor, mechanical factors. That is part of the NTSB investigative process."
One black box recovered from American Airlines flight
The National Transportation Safety Board has recovered a data recorder from the American Airlines regional jet, Senator Maria Cantwell told Reuters.
The NTSB did not comment.
NTSB board member Todd Inman said earlier they were confident they would be able to recover the recorders from the plane and the helicopter.
Reuters
Ice skating clubs showcase messages of love, support for members
Multiple members of the Skating Club of Boston were believed to have been on board American Airlines flight AA5342 and killed in the collision.
Tributes to members who died have started to build inside that skating club over the past several hours.
Large bouquets of flowers have also been laid at the Ashburn Ice House in Virginia, in honour of figure skating coach Inna Volyanskay, and messages of love have been created at the Wichita Ice Center in Kansas.
(Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
The number '5432' written on an ice rink, referencing American Airlines flight 5342, at the Wichita Ice Center (Reuters/Nick Oxford)
(Reuters/Brian Snyder)
Photographs of athletes Jinna Han and Spencer Lane, and coaches Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
IN PICS: Recovery response ongoing in the Potomac River
It is now after 6pm local time in Washington DC, but authorities spent most of Thursday afternoon scouring the Potomac River to uncover parts of the wreckage left behind from the air disaster.
Below is vision and a series of images that highlight the emergency and recovery response on the scene in the city.
(Reuters/Carlos Barria)
(Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
(Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
The stretch of the Potomac River where the mid-air Washington collision happened. (Reuters/Maxar Technologies)
Families of four foreigners onboard flight haven't been contacted: Kansas governor
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly says she believes authorities have not yet reached the families of four people from overseas who were on board the flight. She doesn't know which country they're from.
DFAT told the ABC yesterday that it was "not aware of any Australians affected".
Former airline pilot voices confusion over cause of DC crash
A former airline pilot has weighed in on the Washington DC crash as authorities continue examining what may have gone wrong leading up to the incident.
Daniel Bubb told Reuters there was still confusion around the order of events that caused the crash.
"My overarching question is … What was the helicopter pilot thinking?" he said.
"How can you not see the plane?"
Report says one air traffic controller working two jobs when crash happened
One air traffic controller was responsible for coordinating helicopter traffic and arriving and departing planes when the collision happened, according to a report by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) obtained by The Associated Press.
The configuration was “not normal,” the report said, but a person familiar with the matter said the staffing at the air traffic control tower on Wednesday night was at a normal level.
The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.
They said the two positions were regularly combined when controllers needed to step away from the console for breaks, were in the process of a shift change, or when air traffic was slow.
The FAA has long struggled with a shortage of air traffic controllers and identified fatigue as a factor that might lead to mistakes.
After a number of highly publicised close calls between planes that were following orders from control towers, the FAA said last summer that it would increase the minimum time controllers get between shifts starting this year.
AP
Air traffic audio captures moments of panic
The moments of disbelief and panic before and after the crash have been captured in air traffic control audio published by Reuters.
The news service says the audio came from LiveATC.net, a respected source for in-flight recordings, and captured communications between the three crew members in the helicopter before it collided with the passenger jet.
You can listen to the exchanges here:
While some of the audio quality makes it difficult to understand, this is what we're being told was said:
"PAT25, do you have a CRJ in sight? PAT25, pass behind the CRJ," an air traffic controller said at 8:47pm, local time.
Seconds later, another aircraft called in to air traffic control, saying, "Tower, did you see that," apparently referring to the crash.
An air traffic controller then redirected planes heading to runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport to go around.
"Both the helicopter and the plane crashed in the river," a ground controller can be heard saying.
"It was probably out in the middle of the river," the controller said.
"I just saw a fireball and then it was just gone. I haven't seen anything since they hit the river. But it was a CRJ and a helicopter that hit."
Reporting with Reuters
Former US figure skater Nancy Kerrigan breaks down speaking about crash
By all accounts the figure skating community in the US has been left devastated in the wake of what has happened in Washington.
Visibly emotional, former American figure skater Nancy Kerrigan spoke to media earlier at the Skating Club of Boston and conveyed her grief over the fatal crash.
"Any time I've been able to be here and watch them grow, the kids here really work hard, their parents work had to be here," she said.
"I just, I feel for the athletes, the skaters, their families, but anyone that was on that plane.
"It's just such a tragic event."
You can watch more of her comments here:
Air traffic was understaffed, leaked FAA report suggests
Some US media outlets say they've seen evidence one air traffic controller was doing the job of two people the night of the crash.
The New York Times says it has reviewed an "internal preliminary Federal Aviation Administration safety report" which suggests that staffing at the air traffic control tower Ronald Reagan National Airport was "not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic".
According to their assessment, a single controller was handling helicopters near the airport but was also doubling up and instructing planes that were landing and taking off. These jobs are usually handled by separate workers.
CNN says an air traffic source backs this and says one air traffic controller was working two different tower positions at the time of the collision.
When asked about this in the oval office, President Donald Trump said he did not know if there were enough people working but also again seemed keen to draw the issue back to competence.
"If you had the right people, you wouldn't need as many people either," he said.
Fight data recorders still in the water
Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) made clear from the outset of their media briefing that they would not be speculating on the cause of the crash.
The agency has nearly 50 staff members working at the scene, which is not far from its Washington DC headquarters.
"We're here to assure the American people that we are going to leave no stone unturned in this investigation," NTSB chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said.
She told the press conference that neither of the flight data recorders have yet been recovered. Both are believed to still be submerged in the Potomac River.
"We have many times recovered flight data recorders in water," she said.
"We have our lab right here that is about a mile from the NTSB, so it's not unusual.
"And once we get those, we'll be able to get those read and information from them to be able to provide further information to you."
Tributes flow for plane pilots and helicopter soldiers
More is coming to light about the identities of the pilots who were on board American Airlines flight AA5342, as well as the soldiers who were on the US Army Black Hawk flight in Washington.
28-year-old Sam Lilley was one of two pilots on the plane, serving as the first officer, according to his father Timothy Lilley, in a Facebook post.
"I was so proud when Sam became a pilot," wrote Lilley, himself a pilot, who was in New York at the time of the crash.
"Now it hurts so bad I can't even cry myself to sleep."
The image of Sam Lilley that his father, Timothy Lilley, shared to Facebook. (Facebook/Timothy Lilley)
Sam's dad says he was engaged to be married later this year.
Alongside Sam on the flight was flight attendant Ian Epstein who is survived by two daughters, according to his ex-wife, Debi Epstein.
"He made flying fun for the passengers on the plane so they didn't get scared," she said.
"He was always the jokester and just doing the announcements with the twist."
The image of Ian Epstein that his ex-wife, Debi Epstein, shared to Facebook. (Facebook/Debi Epstein)
It has also been reported that Jonathon Campos was the captain of the plane and Danasia Elder was the second flight attendant.
We've also learned that one of the three soldiers killed in the army helicopter was Ryan O'Hara, who was also a member of the Parkview High School Reserve Officers' Training Corps in Gwinnett County, Georgia.
That is a school-based program that trains high school students for military service.
What do we know about the Washington crash victims?
Details are beginning to emerge about who is believed to have been on board the flight from Wichita, Kansas to Washington when it collided with a US Army helicopter.
AP reports that 14 members of the figure skating community were killed.
As my colleague Brad Ryan reported earlier, the victims include figure skaters, family members and coaches who had been attending a national training camp for top young athletes in Kansas, including former figure skating world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.
Figure skaters Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov performing in 1995. (AP/Shizuo Kambayashi)
At least five members of a Washington plumbers and pipe fitters union were also among the dead, the union said in a statement, without identifying the victims.
This is some of the information we have received about other victims believed to have been killed in the collision:
- 26-year-old Asra Hussain Raza sent a text to her husband, Hamaad, from the flight, saying she would land in about 20 minutes. He says he never received another message from her.
- Spencer Lane and Jinna Han, both around 16 years old, had been attending US Figure Skating's National Development Camp in Wichita and were on board the flight with their mothers.
Figure skater Spencer Lane is also believed to have been killed in the midair collision. (AP/The Skating Club of Boston)
- Russian-born Inna Volyanskaya, a skating coach in the Washington area, was also on board the plane, according to a X post from US Representative Suhas Subramanyam and a report from the Russian news agency TASS.
Reporting with Reuters, AP
