Sixty-seven people are presumed dead after a passenger plane on approach to Reagan National Airport near Washington, DC, collided Wednesday night with a US Army helicopter midair, sending both aircraft into the Potomac River below,
President Trump added to the turmoil, saying with no evidence that the crash could have been caused by diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at the Federal Aviation Administration.
Ari Schulman told NBC Washington that he saw the plane crash while he was driving on the George Washington Parkway, which runs alongside the airport. He said the plane's approach looked normal, until he saw it bank hard to the right, with "streams of sparks" running underneath, illuminating its belly.
Recovery work continues at the crash site in Washington, where all 64 people on board an American Airlines flight died along with three soldiers on a military helicopter. Meanwhile, a report has found air traffic control tower staffing was "not normal" for the time of day.
The BBC's Analysis Editor Ros Atkins on the unanswered questions around a fatal crash between a commercial airplane and a military helicopter near Washington DC.
The midair collision between the American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter near Washington DC claimed the lives of 67 people, including talented young figure skaters
Rescue crews rushed into the Potomac River, just three miles from the White House, after a commercial jet carrying 64 people collided last night with an Army helicopter carrying three service members. By morning, officials determined that no one had survived.
They were returning home from a camp for young figure skaters identified as having promise.
The plane collided with a helicopter just before it was scheduled to land. This is a developing story and will be updated.