No survivors after plane-helicopter collision outside US capital
WASHINGTON
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U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that no one survived after a commercial plane carrying 64 people crashed with a military helicopter outside of the nation's capital, Washington DC.
Trump said officials do not yet know what led to the crash of American Airlines Flight 5342 and an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport, but said, "we have some very strong opinions and ideas."
"We think we have some pretty good ideas, but we'll find out how this disaster occurred, and we'll ensure that nothing like this ever happens again. The FAA and the NTSB and the US military will be carrying out a systematic and comprehensive investigation," he said.
Trump appeared to place blame on the crew of the military helicopter, saying, "You had a pilot problem from the standpoint of the helicopter."
"It was very clear night, it was cold, but clear and clear as you could be the American Airlines plane had lights blazing, they had all their landing lights on," he said. "You had a helicopter that had the ability to stop, I have helicopters. You can stop a helicopter very quickly. It had the ability to go up or down and had the ability to turn. And the turn it made was not the correct turn, obviously. And it did, somewhat, the opposite of what it was told."
Trump also suggested he might make sweeping changes at federal aviation agencies. There could firings “if we find that people aren’t mentally competent.”
U.S. Figure Skating said several athletes, coaches and officials were aboard the flight, while officials in Moscow confirmed married Russian couple Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the 1994 world pairs title, were on the jet.
The Bombadier plane operated by an American Airlines subsidiary was approaching Reagan National Airport at around 9 p.m. on Jan. 29 after flying from Wichita, Kansas, when the collision happened.
U.S. Army officials said the helicopter involved was a Black Hawk carrying three soldiers on a "training flight."
Trump said it was still not clear what led to the crash. He said the U.S. miliary and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
Türkiye expressed condolences to the U.S. following the collision. “We extend our condolences to the people of the U.S. and to the families of those who lost their lives in this tragic accident,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.