{"id":20025,"date":"2025-02-01T07:00:21","date_gmt":"2025-02-01T07:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=20025"},"modified":"2025-02-01T07:00:21","modified_gmt":"2025-02-01T07:00:21","slug":"donald-trump-issues-concerning-statement-after-american-airlines-flight-crashes-with-helicopter-and-splits-in-half-in-mid-air","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=20025","title":{"rendered":"Donald Trump issues concerning statement after American Airlines flight crashes with helicopter and ‘splits in half’ in mid-air"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Donald Trump has issued a statement following the devastating news of an American Airlines flight crashing into a helicopter mid-air.<\/p>\n

The PSA Airlines jet (AA 5432), which had 60 passengers and four crew members on board, was landing at the Ronald Reagan\u00a0Washington<\/a>\u00a0National Airport when it was\u00a0struck mid-air by a Sikorsky H-60 military helicopter<\/a>, carrying three soldiers on board, around 21:00 local time on Wednesday (29 January).<\/p>\n

The plane had departed from Wichita Kansas, while the helicopter departed from from Fort Belvoir in Virginia on a training flight, a US military spokesperson\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0NBC News.<\/p>\n

According to\u00a0witnesses of the devastating collision<\/a>, both aircrafts subsequently plummeted into the Potomac River, with the plane said to have ‘split in half’,\u00a0according to<\/a>\u00a0The Daily Mail. Search teams, boats and helicopters have since been dispatched to search for any survivors.<\/p>\n

In the hours since,\u00a0audio from air traffic control has emerged,<\/a>\u00a0having been recorded from moments before and after the collision.<\/p>\n

At least 19 bodies have been found,\u00a0according<\/a>\u00a0to CBS, with DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly telling press during a conference that his team ‘don’t know’ if they’ll find anybody alive.<\/p>\n

He also revealed that the\u00a0freezing<\/a>\u00a0temperatures and dark conditions in the water are proving difficult for\u00a0rescue teams<\/a>\u00a0to work in.<\/p>\n

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\"The<\/div>\n

The American Airlines flight 5342 collided with a military helicopter while coming into land at Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington DC (Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images)<\/cite><\/div>\n

“There is wind. There are pieces of ice in the water… And because there is not a lot of light, you are out there searching every square inch of space,” he continued.<\/p>\n

“These are very tough conditions for [rescuers] to dive in.”<\/p>\n

Following the horrific news, President\u00a0Trump<\/a>\u00a0released a statement via The White House’s Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, which said he has been ‘fully briefed on the terrible accident’ and that he was ‘monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise’.<\/p>\n

“May God bless their souls.” he added.<\/p>\n

However, on his\u00a0social media<\/a>\u00a0platform, Truth Social, he listed what he believed had happened moments before the crash.<\/p>\n

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\"Donald<\/div>\n

Donald Trump has issued a statement following the tragic news (Joe Raedle \/ Staff \/ Getty Images)<\/cite><\/div>\n

He\u00a0penned<\/a>: “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.<\/p>\n

“It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn\u2019t the helicopter go up or down, or turn.”<\/p>\n

Then, he queried the control tower, and why the helicopter was not instructed to move out of the flight path of the plane, writing: “Why didn\u2019t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane. This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!”<\/p>\n