Quotes
They normally get calls for aircraft in distress. This time it rang, and all they heard was crash, crash, crash,
said David Hoagland, head of the Fire and EMS unionThree seconds later, and at that point it was banked all the way to the right... I could see the underside of it, it was lit up a very bright yellow,
Schulman told CNNThe airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing,
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platformThese responders found extremely frigid conditions, they found heavy wind, they found ice on the water, and they operated all night,
Donnelly saidI just saw a fireball and it was gone,
one air traffic controller was heard telling another after communication with the helicopter was cutDo I think this was preventable? Absolutely,
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told the news conferenceThey did have night vision goggles,
he addedWe are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident,
said John Donnelly, Washington DC’s fire chief, said at a press conference on Thursday morningSafety is our expectation, everyone who flies in American skies expects we fly safely,
Duffy saidWe will continue to work to find all the bodies to reunite them with their loved ones,
he saidThe district office of the medical examiner has lead on reuniting these bodies and these people, with their loved ones,
Donnelly continuedWe have recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter,
he addedI’m just praying that someone is pulling her out of the river right now. That’s all I can pray for."
Hamaad Raza told WUSAWhen one person dies it's a tragedy, but when many, many, many people die it's an unbearable sorrow."
Roger Marshall of Kansas saidAll takeoffs and landings have been halted at DCA. Emergency personnel are responding to an aircraft incident on the airfield. The terminal remains open. Will update."
The airport said in a post to XPAT 25 pass behind the CRJ."
The controller made another call to the chopper just moments later, sayingThese are experienced pilots. I know that the captain had … almost six years with PSA (Airlines), and the first officer almost two years."
He addedAre efforts now are focussed on entirely on the needs our passengers, crew members, partners, first responders - along with their families and loved ones."
He added