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64 People on Board American Airlines Flight, 3 Soldiers on Army Helicopter During Crash. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired January 30, 2025 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[05:59:53]

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING, where we are tracking the latest out of the nation's capital following a tragic mid-air collision between a passenger plane and an Army helicopter.

I'm Kasie Hunt, and I'm here in Alexandria, Virginia, on the shores of the Potomac River, where there is a frantic search-and-rescue operation underway looking for survivors. A law

the Potomac River, where there is a frantic search the Potomac River, where there is a frantic search-and-rescue operation underway looking for survivors.

A law enforcement official does confirm to CNN that there are fatalities. At this point, we don't know of any survivors that have been pulled from the freezing water behind me.

This mid-air collision happening when an American Airlines flight, 5342, was just moments away from landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport, DCA.

It sent both aircraft, the American Airlines jet and the Black Hawk helicopter, a training flight plunging into the Potomac. There were 60 passengers and four crew members on board that plane. It was arriving from Wichita, Kansas. There were three crew members on that Black Hawk helicopter at the time of the collision.

And now hundreds of rescuers are battling absolutely frigid conditions. You can see how cold it is out here during these search- and-rescue operations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JOHN A. DONNELLY SR., D.C. FIRE AND EMS: The challenges are access. The water that we're operating in is about eight feet deep. There is wind, there is pieces of ice out there. So, it's just dangerous and hard to work in. And because there's not a lot of lights, you're out there searching every square inch of space to see if you can find anybody.

The divers are doing the same thing in the water. The water is dark. It is murky. And that is a very tough condition for them to dive in.

And law enforcement sources are telling CNN that this rescue operation is becoming more grim by the hour. And again, no survivors have been pulled from that freezing water.

And several sources also confirmed to CNN that the plane is in several pieces in the water. Officials are bracing for this crash to become the deadliest aviation disaster in D.C. in decades.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ROGER MARSHALL (R-KS): You know, when one person dies, it's a tragedy. But when many, many, many people die, it's an unbearable sorrow. It's a heartbreak beyond measure. And I know Senator Moran and I are here just to -- to say we care. We wish that there was more we could do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right. Joining us now here on the scene, Mary Schiavo. She is a CNN aviation analyst, former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation.

We also have Cedric Leighton. He's a CNN military analyst, retired Air Force colonel. Thank you both for being here with us on this morning as we cover this unfolding tragedy.

And I do just want to reset for anyone, everyone who's waking up here on the East Coast. Mary, help us understand what happened here. We know these two planes collided. It's not something, thank the lord, that we see very often in this country. What happened last night?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: What happened last night is American Airlines, being flown by PSA Airlines, a Canadair regional jet 700; holds up to a 70 people, with 64 on board.

It was coming in to land, as you know, happens, you know, every few minutes, all the time. There were several planes in the air. It was a busy airport.

I landed here myself at 7:30. It was very dark, very cold, a little bit bumpy wind. But weather wasn't really a factor in the accident.

Also operating in the area were was an Army helicopter. It is reported that it was a training mission. There were -- lots of helicopters in D.C. ferry around VIPs and -- and you know, all sorts of -- all sorts of folks. But this was a training mission.

The air traffic control tower, specifically asked, it's reported, did ask the helicopter if the helicopter had this flight, this American Airlines flight in sight.

That's very important. That's very telling. It's a key piece of evidence.

Because the aircraft, the commercial passenger service aircraft, are always under full air traffic control. And what's called instrument air traffic direction. So that was flying exactly as the tower -- or should have been flying exactly as the tower instructed. There's no indication it was not.

So, the helicopter was doing what's called see and avoid. The tower said, "Do you have this aircraft," and get in line or fly in behind it. So, it was supposed to find this aircraft in the air, see it, and then fall in behind it.

HUNT: And of course, we can hear the helicopters overhead right now.

And just to give everyone a sense of -- of where we're standing, we can also see the lights from the boats that are part of this search- and-rescue operation. At this hour. Officials have not updated. We're still waiting to see at what point this may become a search-and- recovery operation, because again, we know that no survivors have been pulled from the water.

[06:05:07]

But Cedric Leighton, this -- this river, it's -- it's an incredibly beautiful stretch, right? I mean, behind us also. I doubt the viewers can see it, but we can see the Washington monument, the United States Capitol. At the other end of the mall is the Lincoln Memorial. And this is a beautiful approach.

If you're -- oftentimes these small planes will take this absolutely beautiful approach down the river, past all of these gorgeous D.C. landmarks.

The other thing we also know, Cedric, if you live here, is that there is constant helicopter traffic over this segment of the river. It's often extraordinarily low. I know when I sometimes have visitors in town, many of them are taken aback by how loud the helicopter noise is, how many there are, how low they fly.

Tell us a little bit more about what this specific helicopter does, what the unit that was flying it does, what they may have been training for and how this could have happened.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, Kasie. This is a helicopter, the UH-60, which is a Black Hawk helicopter, belongs to the 12th Aviation Battalion, which is at -- located at Fort Belvoir in Davison Army airfield, to be specific.

And what the unit's mission is, is to fly VIPs and other necessary things around the various posts and bases here in the D.C. area.

They fly a lot of people in and out of the Pentagon. They fly a lot of special missions for various entities in and around the national capital region, and they also provide a service, a logistical service for the Pentagon and for other military units.

So, it's a critical unit, and it has had a very good safety record up -- up until this particular incident. They've done a lot of training. There have been a lot of -- there's

been a lot of aerial activity in the last week to ten days out of Davison Army Airfield and several other installations. So, there's been a lot of practicing going on for these -- these pilots.

We don't know exactly, you know, what the nature of this mission was. It, you know, almost certainly was some kind of a training mission. We don't know whether the pilots were familiar with this area, if they had just been newly assigned to the unit, or if they were experienced pilots in this particular area.

So, these are things that are going to have to come out.

But it is one of the premier units that ferries VIPs around. Luckily, no VIPs on board the aircraft, the helicopter that crashed. But that is always a big risk.

And you mentioned a lot of helicopters around here. Go down any of the interstates in this area and you will see the helicopters come in and out of some of the locations here, and we get used to it by being here.

But there's always a danger in aviation, and that's something that we're seeing right now, unfortunately.

HUNT: Well, let's not forget that, for the family members of those crew members, they are VIPs. These -- these deaths, every single one of them, an enormous, enormous tragedy.

Again, we should say there have been no survivors pulled out yet so far. But we are waiting on word of the -- the condition of all of the people who were on both of these planes.

Cedric, you mentioned something to me earlier last hour about what it's like and how you focus when you're flying a helicopter and why that might have impacted things, because, as Mary noted, the pilots were asked, Do you have visual confirmation? Can you see this plane?

Where are helicopter pilots normally focused as they're flying a mission like this?

LEIGHTON: Normally, they're focused -- and this may not be something that's logical to people who don't fly, but they're normally -- normally focused on the ground.

Because one of the things that a lot of helicopter pilots do, especially in the military, is they fly what's called map of the earth. They fly right along the surface of the earth, very -- at very low altitude. So, they're used to looking down, not necessarily looking either sideways or up.

And that -- that is one of the key things that is really important, you know, to note, that they may not have seen the right aircraft if -- when they -- when they were told by air traffic control, did you see this particular aircraft? Did you see it? They said yes. They replied affirmatively, but they may not have seen the correct aircraft.

HUNT: Right. And for people who don't live in this area, or perhaps don't fly into this airport, it is worth noting that the traffic is pretty constant. It's an incredibly busy airport, and even for these -- this particular type of jet, this CRJ, there's a number of them that fly because of the nature of this airport services. A lot of -- it's honestly here because members of Congress want to be able to fly. There's all these small flights coming from small cities across the country that use these jets.

I mean, as a political campaign reporter, I've flown to, you know, all over the country to all sorts of small cities on these planes and taking this exact approach myself many times.

Mary, I want to play what we heard, what we have from the -- the air control tower from the FAA, the interaction between them. And then we'll talk about it. Let's watch that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[06:10:03]

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: PAT 2-5 do you have the CRJ in sight?

PAT 2-5 pass behind the CRJ.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: Oooh.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: I don't know if you caught earlier what happened, but there was a collision on the -- approaching the 3-3.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So, there you could hear the air traffic controller instruct the helicopter pilot to fly behind the plane, and then you could hear him react when he figured out what happened. What did you learn when you listened to that?

SCHIAVO: Well, I learned, you know, several things. You know, one, that they were flying with at least communication with air traffic control. The air traffic controller was certainly trying to keep all the traffic separated, as is the job of an air traffic controller.

The -- the aircraft, from that transmission, clearly had priority, was going into land. It -- it would have priority. And under total air traffic control. And you know, given maybe, perhaps even just a second or more of time, they might have realized, you know, the plane is right there and taken evasive measures. And the helicopter would have been much more maneuverable.

And of course, the aircraft could have taken evasive maneuvers if they saw it. They probably didn't.

Remember, the aircraft is a low winger; the wings are below. There's, as I always remind people, there's no rear-view mirror on the -- on the airplane. And there actually have been discussions over the years to put cameras that you can see a 360 around the plane.

HUNT: We have that in our cars. You'd think that that would be something that would be standard for pilots.

SCHIAVO: Yes. No, there was a lot of discussion on that after 9/11, actually. But -- and then that lets us know that the air traffic controller was, you know, reminding the helicopter, do you have it in sight, because the helicopter was doing, you know, old-fashioned flying, at least at that part, of see and avoid.

HUNT: See and avoid.

Let's take a -- we have a little bit of new information from a witness to this midair collision. Let's listen to that. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARI SCHULMAN, WITNESSED PLANE CRASH: I looked back again just to see if I could maybe see it land. And this was three seconds later, and at that point it was banked all the way to the right. I would say maybe past the right, past 90 degrees. I could see the underside of it. It was lit up, a very bright yellow, and there was a stream of sparks underneath it. It looked like a roman candle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: It looked like a roman candle, he says.

SCHIAVO: Well, and that gives us, you know, more clues. Just so many of these earwitness, eyewitness and recordings give so many clues.

But the fact that it was a roman candle means that there was a fire. The fuel tanks, you know, and they were in the wings were perhaps pierced. But whatever happened, happened at that point.

And other witnesses in the video show the flashpoint and the fire. But since it was a roman candle, it was on fire. And probably at that point, a lot of damage had been done, and it was not controllable.

HUNT: Cedric, a helicopter like this, give us a sense of -- I mean, how big is it compared to the plane? This particular type of bird.

LEIGHTON: So, its smaller, generally speaking, than -- than the CRJ aircraft. And it, you know, it may have been difficult. I think it was absolutely difficult for the pilot of the airplane to see the helicopter. I don't think the pilot of the airplane was focused on the helicopter at all.

The helicopter pilot should have been able to see the airplane, but we don't know what else was going on. And like we mentioned earlier, was there something else that attracted his attention, his or her attention at that -- at that particular point in time?

HUNT: All right. Cedric Leighton, Mary Schiavo, thank you both very much for being with us this morning. Do stand by for us. We're obviously going to be covering this breaking news throughout the morning and into the rest of today.

Coming up next here, there are some tragic ties between this crash and U.S. figure skating and that community. Coming up next, we'll tell you what they're saying at this hour.

We're going to be covering this breaking news all morning. Stay with us right here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a highly complex operation. The conditions out there are extremely rough for the responders. The wind is hard out on the river, so they're out there working. We're keeping -- doing everything we can to keep them safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:19:02]

HUNT: Welcome back to CNN's breaking coverage of this midair collision between an American Airlines commercial jet and a Black Hawk helicopter on a training mission over the Potomac River.

Both aircraft plunging into the icy waters in the 9 p.m. hour last night, the search-and-rescue effort underway. A frantic search-and- rescue effort underway as Ronald Reagan National Airport, where that American Airlines plane was trying to land, is at a standstill this morning.

There are no flights coming in or out of DCA. It's the area's busiest airport. It's going to be that way until at least 11 a.m. this morning, according to officials.

And of course, hundreds of flights have been canceled or delayed as a result, the emergency responders are frantically searching the Potomac River. We can actually see the lights on those boats just behind me here.

We are across the river from Washington, D.C., on the same side as Ronald Reagan National Airport as, of course, we continue to cover this crash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY MAZEL, WITNESSED PLANE CRASH: We were watching the planes land, and they're all lined up in a row perfectly. You know? And then we sort of saw these white flares start flying out of the sky.

So, we were kind of concerned. And then shortly after, we saw all the planes disperse and go their own ways. They all, like, went around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: And CNN's Arlette Saenz joins us live now from Reagan National Airport with more on what we are set to learn from officials this morning.

Arlette, what can we, the public and what can the families of those who were on these two aircraft expect to learn as this morning goes on?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thirty seconds.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kasie, still so many questions for these families as they are waiting to learn more about what exactly happened in this plane crash.

In a little over an hour, we are expecting to hear once again from local officials on the latest updates on these operations, the search- and-rescue operations that have been carried out overnight, to try to see if they can pull any survivors out of the water.

Now, last -- or early this morning, we did receive an update, saying that there were about 300 first responders who activated to try to mobilize in this search-and-rescue operation, but the D.C. fire chief saying that they are operating in very dangerous conditions. These waters are very dark, and it is very cold temperatures out there.

And pretty soon in the coming hours, day will start to break here in the nation's capital, perhaps giving some assistance as they continue this operation that's been underway overnight.

Now, we are still also waiting to hear more about the NTSB investigation that will be playing out over a considerable amount of time to see if they have any other details as to how exactly this collision between that passenger aircraft with American Airlines, traveling from Wichita, Kansas, here to Reagan National Airport, collided with that Army helicopter.

So, a lot of questions for local officials as people are still trying to get a handle of this very fluid situation, trying to determine what exactly happened here, and whether there are any survivors from this crash.

HUNT: Arlette, we should underscore, you know, for people who aren't as familiar with this airport and this area as -- as you and I are. I'm sure you have taken dozens, if not hundreds of flights. Perhaps on some of these small jets to some of these smaller cities across the country.

It's a unique airport. Members of Congress use it. It's part of why it's here. And many of these direct routes are because members of Congress wanted them to be there.

Wichita, of course, one of those routes, we learned from the state's -- from Kansas's senator, Jerry Moran. He talked to reporters last night a little bit about what this particular route means to him and what it means for his personal connection, the personal connections of many Kansans to people who may have been on that plane. Let's watch what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. JERRY MORAN (R-KS): I know that flight. I've flown it many times myself. I lobbied American Airlines to begin having a direct nonstop flight service to DCA. That flight has been in existence about a year.

And it is certainly true that, in Kansas and in Wichita, in particular, we're going to know people who were on this flight, know their family members, know somebody. So, this is a very personal circumstance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: "A very personal circumstance," he said. Arlette, what are we learning at this point about who was on that plane?

SAENZ: Well, that's the big question going forward. There are many family members who had come here to Reagan National Airport, a different area of the airport, where the airline had set up an area for them to come and try to get some answers.

There's -- also set up a hotline for them to call in to.

Now last night, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser would not detail any of the specifics of who might have been recovered from the search-and-rescue operations that were underway.

But we are learning some details overnight about some of the people who were on board. The U.S. figure skating, the national governing body of that sport, actually said that several members of the skating community were on that flight from Wichita, Kansas, here to Reagan National Airport.

They had been participating in skating events in conjunction with the U.S. figure skating championship in Kansas.

Russian state media has also said that two world champion Russian figure skaters were also on board that plane. That's just a little bit of the picture of who was on this American Airlines flight.

So far, we know that there were 64 people aboard that passenger aircraft, and then three people aboard that Army Black Hawk helicopter.

[06:25:02]

So, we are still waiting to hear more details about who these people might be, who -- whether there are any survivors and of course, what kind of answers their families are getting in this very tragic moment.

HUNT: All right. Arlette Saenz for us at Ronald Reagan National Airport. Arlette, thank you very much for that reporting.

And coming up next here on CNN, we are going to speak live to a witness of that midair collision between a Black Hawk helicopter with three on board and that American Airlines commercial jet with 60 passengers and four crew aboard. We're also going to learn a little bit more about what we're hearing

from the U.S. figure skating community. All that and more as we continue to cover this breaking news right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:03]

HUNT: Welcome back to CNN's breaking news coverage. Overnight we have been covering the collision between an American Airlines commercial jet.