HEARTBREAKING footage shows rescue crews searching for bodies after Wednesday’s tragic crash between a commerical airliner and Army chopper as planes continue to fly overhead.
Video obtained exclusively by The U.S. Sun shows brave crews desperately sifting through the Potomac River in Washington DC for remains after the accident that left no survivors.
ReutersFirst responders are still searching for bodies after the American Airlines plane crash that killed 67[/caption]
AFPRoberto Marquez, an artist from Dallas, Texas, is building a memorial for the victims outside the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport[/caption]
News Enterprises IncThe U.S. Sun captured exclusive video of crews braving the rain and icy waters to find bodies[/caption]
On Wednesday evening before 9 pm, an American Airlines plane smashed into a Black Hawk that was flying in the middle of its descent path.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has since confirmed that an “elevation issue” with the US Army-operated helicopter’s training mission led to the fiery explosion.
It’s the deadliest US air crash since November 2001, when 260 people died after an American Airlines plane plunged into a New York City neighborhood.
Washington DC’s ink-black waters and frigid temperatures left passengers with little chance of survival, as first responders quickly realized the rescue mission was a recovery operation.
Days later and with 40 bodies pulled from the river, the dedicated crews are still searching for remains as they navigate the shattered plane remnants that fell upside down into the murky water.
The U.S. Sun captured exclusive footage of the grim scene where divers continue to swim through the death-strewn waters.
On Friday, patrol boats braved drizzles of rain throughout the drawn-out search.
The U.S. Sun also spoke with anxious travelers at nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, where the doomed plane was headed.
Many of them described the ambient fear seeping through the lobby as they awaited flights.
Some fliers had to catch a plane just an hour after the airport reopened on Thursday morning, and they were all hesitant before walking toward TSA.
“I’m flying out, it’s pretty tragic,” Abhi, a 25-year-old flier, told The U.S. Sun.
“I fly regularly and so it does make me feel a little bit more aware than I usually do when I’m flying.
“So, definitely I feel a little bit more aware and scared, but you got to keep going and got to move on you know.”
Another concerned traveler described texting his sister all night after her flight was rerouted from Arkansas to New York because of the crash.
“She’s very concerned. She’s been texting me the whole time,” Carlos Estrada said.
“It makes me uneasy. We’re all here hurting in some ways.”
I watched as DC rescue teams fought through torrential rain to find remains in icy waters
From Senior Reporter Israel Salas-Rodriguez in Washington DC:
A recovery mission is still underway just several feet behind me here at the Potomac River in the National’s capital.
Divers have continued to scour through the waters searching for victims.
The unfathomable incident occurred late Wednesday evening when an American Airlines flight carrying 64 passengers and crew members, which originated from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a Black Hawk army helicopter as the commercial airliner was making its decent into Reagan National Airport.
The horrific caught on camera incident sent shockwaves across the country.
Footage captured the mid-air collision that lit up the DC sky as remnants of both aircraft’s plunged into the icy Potomac river, leaving no survivors.
First responders have been working tirelessly, around the clock, pulling bodies and debris from the aircraft’s from the frigid waters.
The U.S. Sun was at Reagan National Airport on Thursday an hour after the airport reopened at 11 am.
Several travelers, hauling luggages, spoke to The U.S. Sun and described how the incident left them uneasy as they waited to board their flight.
One concerned man described how he and his sister have been texting overnight, nonstop since her AA from Arkansas was rerouted to NY because of the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation and working on determining what caused the crash that killed all 67 people aboard the AA flight and Army helicopter.
So far, at least 41 bodies have been recovered.
At least 14 of the passengers aboard the AA flight were renowned icy skaters and hopeful Olympians, who were returning home from a national Figure Ice Skating tournament in Wichita.
The athletes were members of various icy rinks in the DMV area and Boston.
The U.S. Sun spoke to several mourns outside Ashburn Ice Center on Thursday evening, many of whom were still visibly shaken by the tragedy.
Former ice hockey coach at Ashburn Wellesley Shomo coached at the facility for 3 years and played on the ice for another 20 years.
A heavy-hearted Wellesley remembered some of the coaches that died in the crash as “good people who dedicate hours to their craft.”
A 15-year-old girl and her mom arrived at Ashburn Ice Center with flowers in hand minutes before the ice center was set to close for the night on Thursday.
The emotional teen, who fought back tears, told The U.S. Sun that some of her friends died in the crash, saying, “This is our rink. I’ve been skating here since I was 3. I’m just trying not to cry.”
President Trump said he and his team have “strong opinions and ideas” about what happened, but vowed to conduct a speedy investigation.
U.S. ArmyAndrew Eaves, 39, was one of the three Army soldiers on the Black Hawk[/caption]
Instagram / ice_skating_sistersEverly Livingston, 14, and her little sister Alydia, 11, were on the plane[/caption]
FacebookKiah Duggins, a former pageant queen and Harvard graduate, died in the crash[/caption]
SEARCH FOR ANSWERS
A furious President Donald Trump has launched a search for answers and is blasting the US Army for the crash.
According to now-disturbing flight records, the Black Hawk was cruising through “helicopter alley,” which earned its name from being a pre-approved route for Army missions.
The helicopter pilot contacted Reagan Airport’s air traffic controller for permission to use the area and was told it was safe to proceed as long as they flew below 200 feet in the skies.
However, the Black Hawk proceeded to fly at 300 feet in the air, right into the pathway of the descending plane.
‘Scared’ travelers return to Ronald Reagan airport
By Senior Reporter Israel Salas-Rodriguez in Washington DC:
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is up and running again after a Black Hawk chopper crashed into an American Airlines flight preparing for arrival just before 9 pm on Wednesday leaving 67 people dead.
After closing for 14 hours following the collision, DCA reopened at 11 am on Thursday.
“I’m flying out, it’s pretty tragic,” Abhi, a 25-year-old traveler told The U.S. Sun at the airport.
“I fly regularly and so it does make me feel a little bit more aware than I usually do when I’m flying.
“So, definitely I feel a little bit more aware and scared, but you got to keep going and got to move on you know.”
A Maryland resident named Carlos Estrada told The U.S. Sun he was waiting for his sister’s flight to arrive from Arkansas after it was rerouted to New York.
“She’s very concerned, she’s been texting me the whole time,” Estrada said.
“It makes me uneasy. We’re all here hurting in some way.”
In a cutting Truth Social post, Trump voiced his shock at how there could have been such a deadly oversight by the pilots.
“The Black Hawk helicopter was flying too high, by a lot,” wrote the president.
“It was far about the 200-foot limit. That’s not really too complicated to understand, is it?”
As of Friday, the FAA has banned helicopters from flying in areas around the airport.
VICTIMS NAMED
Children, world-class athletes, and a group of hunting buddies were all on the plane that came crashing into a deadly spiral.
A large portion of the flight from Wichita, Kansas, was coming from the US National Championships for ice skating.
Teen skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane boarded the plane with their mothers and their coaches – Russian couple Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.
Little sisters Alydia and Everly Livingston, who were 11 and 14 years old, were also on the doomed flight.
Another victim, 30-year-old Kiah Duggins, was a former Miss Kansas contestant and Harvard Law graduate who previously worked as an intern for Michelle Obama.
Two of the three soldiers onboard the Black Hawk have been named as Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves and Crew Chief Ryan O’Hara, 28.
The third soldier’s identity wasn’t released at the request of their family.
The first officer of the American Airlines flight was named as Sam Lilley, a 28 year old who was newly engaged.
According to his heartbroken dad, he was in the “prime of his life.”
“I was so proud when Sam became a pilot. Now it hurts so bad I can’t even cry myself to sleep,” he wrote on Facebook.
“It is so devastating to lose someone that is loved so much.”
Washington DC plane crash victims
A mid-air collision between American Airlines flight 5342 and a military helicopter on January 29, 2025, left dozens presumed dead. The victims include:
Captain Jonathan Campos, 34
First Officer Samuel Lilley, 28
Flight attendant Ian Epstein, 53
Flight attendant Danasia Brown
Spencer Lane, 16
Christine Lane, 49
Jinna Han, 13
Jin Han
Evgenia Shishkova, 52
Vadim Naumov, 55
Alexandr Kirsanov
Angela Yang
Sean Kay
Peter Livingston
Donna Smojice Livingston
Everly Livingston, 14
Alydia Livingston, 11
Inna Volyanskaya
Brielle Beyer, 12,
Justyna Magdalena Beyer
Olivia Eve Ter, 12
Asra Hussain Raza, 26
Michael Stovall, 40
Jesse Pitcher, 30
Elizabeth Anne Keys, 33
Wendy Jo Shaffer
Kiah Duggins
Casey Crafton
Lori Schrock, 56
Robert Schrock, 58
Vikesh Patel
Grace Maxwell, 20
Black Hawk Staff Sgt. Ryan O’Hara, 28
Black Hawk Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, 39
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