A U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional passenger plane carrying 64 people collided and plunged into the icy Potomac River close to Reagan Washington National Airport, leaving many persons believed dead.
U.S. Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, from where the airplane was traveling, suggested that most, if not all, of the people on board had been killed in Wednesday night’s accident, although officials did not release a death toll.

An eyewitness said, “It’s really hard when you lose probably over 60 Kansans simultaneously,” during an early-morning press appearance at Reagan Airport in the nation’s capital.
“It’s a tragedy when one person passes away, but it’s an intolerable pain when countless individuals pass away. It’s an unfathomable heartbreak.
Four crew members and 60 passengers were verified to be on board the aircraft by American Airlines. According to a U.S. official, the chopper was transporting three soldiers on a training flight.
RESCUE EFFORTS
Officials told relatives gathering at the airport that they were not getting much information. At three in the morning, a man outside the airport stood on the pavement and sobbed.
According to the governing organization U.S. Figure Skating, the aircraft carried several American ice skaters, their families, and coaches who were returning from a camp after figure skating finals in Wichita.
According to Russian official media, among those on board were Vadim Naumov and Yevgenia Shishkova, former world champions in figure skating from Russia. The Kremlin expressed sympathy to the families of the Russians who were killed and stated that President Vladimir Putin and Trump did not currently have any plans to communicate.
At least 300 first responders were still working on the “highly complex” rescue, according to Washington, DC fire chief John Donnelly.