Dramatic footage shows the extensive rescue efforts after an American Airlines flight collided with a Black Hawk helicopter at Reagan National Airport.
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Ari Aramesh, a lawyer and TV commentator, posted two harrowing clips from a rooftop POV showing the massive response from authorities last night. The first video posted to Instagram shows police cars and other emergency vehicles racing through the winding DC roadways, their sirens blazing. Civilians clear the roads as an endless line of emergency vehicles flood through.
In the second video Aramesh posted, the lawyer points his camera from the roadways to the DC skyline. A helicopter shoots out a powerful spotlight, cutting through the night sky. A clearly shaken Aramesh narrates the scene as it unfolds.
“There is a search and rescue chopper right here, above… above the Potomac, as you can see. That’s why the searchlight is on, looking down. That’s where the plane went down.”
“This is Reagan. This is Reagan National,” he repeats, as though he’s still processing the incredible sight. “You have a large presence of rescue vehicles responding to that side. There is that chopper right there with the searchlight on. Additional units are now going and all responding to the scene,” he added.
“Rescue helicopter searching the Potomac. A regional jet collided with a Blackhawk helicopter at Reagan Airport. DCA,” he captioned the clip.
“Horrible. Such a rare and unexplainable accident,” one onlooker wrote in the comments.
Authorities Have Switched to Recovery Operations at Reagan National Airport
The incident happened at around 9 p.m. on Wednesday. American Airlines Flight 5342 was preparing to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., when it collided with a Black Hawk helicopter on a training mission. The commercial plane had 64 people onboard, while the helicopter carried three soldiers.
After hours of rescue efforts, officials have shifted their focus to recovery, as it is now believed there are no survivors from the midair collision.
Per CNN, Washington D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said search teams are now conducting a recovery operation in the Potomac River, where both aircraft landed after catching fire.
“We are now at a point where we’re switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” Donnelly explained. “At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident.”