Thursday, January 30

A Black Hawk helicopter belonging to the United States Army collided with an American Airlines flight over Washington DC last night, and fatalities have been confirmed as a massive search-and-rescue operation begins.

The incident occurred just before 9 pm local time on Wednesday night in the Washington DC area. American Airlines Flight 5342, a Bombardier CRJ700, was a relatively small flight coming in from Wichita, Kansas, and it was due to land at DC's Reagan National Airport (DCA) at around 9 pm. However, before it could make a landing attempt, the plane collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter, with the pair of aircraft exploding in a fireball before falling into the Potomac River.

The plane, as a regional jet, was carrying 60 passengers and 4 crewmembers, while the helicopter had three members onboard and was on a training flight. It has been confirmed that several figure skaters were onboard the jet because of the US Figure Skating Championships taking place in Kansas, including former world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the championship in 1994.

While the airspace above DCA is extremely busy and tough to navigate, as it contains both passenger planes and military aircraft, incidents like this are not common due to the fact that air traffic control is directing planes across the area. In addition, due to its close proximity to the White House and the Pentagon, the airspace around Reagan National Airport is some of the most controlled airspace in the country, further lessening the chances of a crash. Normally, local ATC prevents crashes like this from happening by pointing out aircraft that may not be visible-- and they did just that on Wednesday night.

It has been confirmed that a radio exchange took place between ATC and the Black Hawk just seconds before the crash, with air traffic controllers directing the helicopter to move out of the way. The controller explicitly informs the Black Hawk of the CRJ in the area, and confirms that the helicopter pilot has the jet in sight. Then, the controller instructs the helicopter to move behind the CRJ, and the pilot responds by confirming that he has the jet in sight. However, just moments later, the radio goes dark after the planes collide in midair, with a chorus of gasps erupting in the ATC tower after they witness the crash.

Controllers then began informing other pilots across the airport of the collision, which led to the complete closure of the airport. Reagan National is still shut down, with the airport expected to open around 11 am local time.

Now, over 300 first responders are searching the Potomac River for survivors, despite the river's freezing temperature-- a bone-chilling 34 degrees. The wreckage of the plane and helicopter have been found in the river, which is around 8 feet deep in that area. Unfortunately, due to the situation, not many survivors are expected to be found, as many who survived the crash may have quickly died afterwards due to hypothermia. In such cold water, humans can die within half an hour, with an estimated maximum survival time of up to 90 minutes. Unfortunately, so far, no survivors have been found, but several fatalities have been confirmed. Officials have not released a preliminary estimate of the death toll, though.

Investigations into the crash are also taking place, and they have yielded some important results. Using flight tracking data, it has been determined that the heliopter was traveling south on the Potomac, passing the Lincoln Memorial and the National Mall before colliding with the jet, which had been flying in the opposite direction.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): Even if you’re incredibly ticklish, you may have noticed that tickling yourself doesn’t actually work. When we try to tickle ourselves, a part of the brain called the cerebellum predicts the sensation. That prediction cancels the response of other brain areas to the tickle.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them. (Kahlil Gibran)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Facetious (adj, fuh-SEE-shuss) - Facetious is used to describe something, such as a remark or behavior, that is meant to be humorous or funny but is sometimes instead annoying, silly, or improper. It can also be used to describe someone who is joking, often implying that they are doing so inappropriately.

In a Sentence: The emcee delivered several facetious quips throughout the night that the audience found in poor taste.