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Trump Says No Survivors in Midair Crash, Victim Names to Be Released

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Trump Says No Survivors in Midair Crash, Victim Names to Be Released
Illustration by The Epoch Times, Google Earth, Shutterstock
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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks about the midair crash between American Airlines flight 5342 and a military helicopter near Washington, in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Jan. 30, 2025. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
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People, including law enforcement members, are seen on a runway at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport as rescue crews search the waters of the Potomac River after a passenger plane on approach to Reagan crashed into the river after colliding with a US Army helicopter, near Washington on Jan. 30, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
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Investigators gather pieces of wreckage along the Potomac River the day after American Airlines flight 5342 on approach to Reagan National Airport crashed into the river after colliding with a US Army helicopter, near Washington on January 30, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
Investigators gather pieces of wreckage along the Potomac River the day after American Airlines flight 5342 on approach to Reagan National Airport crashed into the river after colliding with a US Army helicopter, near Washington on January 30, 2025. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
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Investigators walk the grounds of the Reagan National Airport as they work after the crash last night of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River as it approached the Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Va., on Jan. 30, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
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Emergency response units assemble on the tarmac as search-and-rescue operations are underway in the Potomac River at Ronald Reagan Washington Airport in Arlington, Va., on Jan. 29, 2025. Win McNamee/Getty Images

There were likely no survivors during a midair collision between a passenger jet and a helicopter over the Potomac River near Washington, the district’s fire chief said in a news conference on Thursday.

“We are now at a point where we’re switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident,” DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief John Donnelly said at the morning press conference.

“At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident.”

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Emergency response units respond to helicopter wreckage in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington Airport in Arlington, Va., on Jan. 29, 2025. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

No survivors are expected from the crash involving a passenger plane carrying 64 people and a military helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA), DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly Sr. said on Thursday morning.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed in a statement that a Bombardier CRJ700 plane and a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter collided in the skies at around 9 p.m. EST.

American Eagle Flight 5342, operated by PSA Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines, was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members while making an approach to land at Reagan Airport in Crystal City, Virginia, about five miles from Washington.