Tragedy struck late on Wednesday night when a horrible air travel occurred in Washington D.C. An army helicopter collided with an American Airlines plane, causing an explosion and sending the aircraft plunging into the Potomac River.
Now, news has broken on the passengers of the airplane. The American Airlines craft carried 60 passengers and four crew members, while the army helicopter had three soldiers aboard.
According to ESPN, the plane was bringing back figure skaters and coaches from a developmental camp that followed the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas.
U.S. Figure Skating released an official statement on the tragedy. No individual athletes have been identified at the time of this writing.
“U.S. Figure Skating can confirm that several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C.
“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts.”
President Trump questioned why the Helicopter didn’t avoid the aircraft on Truth Social.
“The 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, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn.”
Hopefully, the families involved get all the time necessary to grieve.
