EarthCam footage captures heartbreaking explosion of American Airlines plane and military collision mid-air
60 passengers and 4 crew members were on board at the time of the crash
Footage captured by EarthCam has revealed the heartbreaking moment when an American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter, causing an explosion that authorities are still trying to understand.
The collision occurred on Wednesday, January 29, near Regan National Airport just outside of Washington D.C., causing the passenger jet to crash into the Potomac River.
It is understood that the plane - American Eagle Flight No. 5342 - was carrying 60 passengers and 4 crew members, as reported by CBS News. In addition to this, the Black Hawk helicopter - Sikorsky H-60 - had three soldiers on board.
As of Thursday morning at least 19 bodies have been recovered from Potomac River, with search and rescue efforts continuing.
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District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief John Donnelly outlined regarding the rescue situation: "It's a highly complex operation, the conditions out there are extremely rough for the responders. It's cold. They're dealing with relatively windy conditions."
Heartbreaking footage captured by EarthCam has also been released, showing the moment that the two vehicles collided in the air.
Captured on the Kennedy Center cam, you can see lights from the American Airlines flight on the left of the horizon, and then a bright orange flash that occurs when it collides with the Sikorsky H-60.
It's horrifying both how quickly the collision happens and how clear the visual impact is, making the seemingly avoidable accident feel even more devastating.
"Zero chance of survival. This is an incredible lapse of communication," argues one commenter underneath the footage, whereas another user wonders: "How is this the best video? DC has 4k cameras every 5 feet."
It is understood that the Black Hawk helicopter took flight as part of a training exercise from Fort Belvoir in Virginia, but many - including US President Donald Trump - argue that the situation could have been prevented.
"This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!" Trump declared on Truth Social. He also thanked the first responders for their 'incredible work', promising to provide 'more details as they arise' in the near future.
It stands out as the first major US commercial airline crash in nearly 16 years, following on from the Continental Airlines Newark crash that left 49 people dead in 2009.
At the moment it remains unclear exactly how the situation unfolded, but hopefully this information will be revealed in the coming days to give further clarity to the situation.