D.C. residents arriving in Miami express sadness over loss of life in aircraft crash
MIAMI - Residents of the Washington, D.C. area, who arrived at Miami International Airport late Thursday morning, expressed sadness for the loss of life in a midair crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night.
One woman, who did want to be identified in this report, said she was up all night watching the news to see if she knew anyone involved in the crash.
"I have two kids that I just found out from my daughter's high school that were on the flight. We have other friends who lost a family member, so it's extremely tragic and it was very, very hard to get on a plane this morning," she said.
She said she feels for the families that lost loved ones.
"Sadness and just empathy for these families that, out of nowhere, lost a loved one and the loss of hope really quickly, know how dark and cold and icy the water was. It was a long night for all of us," she said.
She said it would take the Washington, D.C. area a long time to recover from this.
The aircraft crash near Washington, D.C.
Wednesday evening, American Eagle Flight No. 5342, a regional jetliner carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter, with three soldiers, collided midair and crashed into the Potomac River near the airport.
The plane had taken off from Wichita, Kansas. The soldiers on the helicopter, out of Fort Belvoir in Virginia, were on a proficiency training flight, according to Joint Task Force-National Capitol Region media chief Heather Chairez.
District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief John Donnelly told reporters in a news briefing Thursday morning that 27 bodies had been recovered from the plane and one from the helicopter.
"We don't believe there are any survivors," he said, adding that the efforts at the scene have switched from a rescue operation to a recovery operation.
Reagan National closure
After the crash, Reagan National Airport closed at 9 p.m. Flights into and out of it were canceled. During the closure, passengers were met with signs that read "Due to an emergency situation, all flights are being held on the airfield" and additional information would be available as it is received.
The airport re-opened just before 11 a.m. on Thursday.
The Air Florida Flight 90 incident
In 1982, a U.S. commercial flight suffered a similar tragedy and plummeted into the icy Potomac waters on a January afternoon.
Flight 90, operated by the now-defunct Air Florida, was headed to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport with 74 passengers on board and five crew members. Moments after takeoff, the Boeing 737 failed to maintain altitude and slammed into a bridge, hitting vehicles, before going into the river.
Seventy of the 74 passengers and four of the five crew aboard were killed, along with four occupants of vehicles on the bridge.