An American Airlines plane carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an army helicopter on Thursday (Jan 30) while landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in the US. 

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As the recovery operation continued, the fire chief said that they are not expecting any survivors. 

John Donnelly, the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief, in Washington, DC said that they are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. 

Meanwhile, 27 bodies have been recovered from the plane, and one from the helicopter. 

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Also read: 'Why didn't helicopter go up or down': Trump says the crash 'should have been prevented'

The plane crashed in the Potomac River after the collision. Search and rescue teams immediately started working on rescuing people, however, nobody was rescued. 

The crash is the first fatal commercial plane crash in the US since 2009, when a Bombardier HDC-8 propeller plane went down near Buffalo, New York. The incident led to loss of 49 lives, including 45 passengers and four crew members. 

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What happened and when? 

A PSA Airlines jet operating as American Airlines 5342 collided with a US Army helicopter at around 9:00 pm local time on Wednesday, as it approached Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated. 

The plane, a Bombardier CRJ700 departed from Wichita, Kansas, carrying 64 people onboard. 

The helicopter involved in the crash was a Sikorsky Black Hawk army helicopter that took off from Fort Belvoir in Virginia, the Pentagon said. 

Also read: Washington DC Plane Crash LIVE: Trump to speak on mid-air collision after official says 'no survivors expected'

Before the scheduled landing, air traffic controllers (ATC) asked the pilots if they could land on Runway 33. The flight-tracking sites showed that the pilots adjusted their flight path to align with the request. 

Also, just less than 30 seconds before the crash, an ATC asked the army helicopter if it could see the arriving plane. 

“PAT25 [army helicopter], do you have a CRJ [American Airlines plane] in sight? PAT25, pass behind the CRJ,” an air traffic controller said at 8:47 pm (ET on Wednesday, 01:47 GMT on Thursday).

Later, as it crashed, air traffic controllers were heard saying, Crash, crash, crash, this is an alert three. 

“I just saw a fireball and then it was just gone. I haven’t seen anything since they hit the river. But it was a CRJ and a helicopter that hit,” another controller said.

Also read: VIDEO | White House says passenger jet collided midair with helicopter over Washington

As it collided, the passenger plane broke into multiple pieces and sunk several feet into the river. Meanwhile, the helicopter ended up upside down on the water. 

Notably, three US soldiers were on board the helicopter, Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said. 

According to an official, the helicopter was on a training flight and belonged to B Company, 12th Aviation Battalion from Fort Belvoir in Virginia.

The FAA, along with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be investigating the incident. 

How many people affected? 

The officials don't believe that there are any survivors from the crash, DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said during a press briefing on Thursday. 

He added that 28 bodies have been recovered so far, out of which 27 are from the plane and one from the helicopter. 

US Figure Skating said "Several members of our skating community were sadly aboard" the flight. 

Also read: 'Helicopter knew there was a plane': Trump, US transportation secretary say deadly Washington DC crash was ‘preventable’

It further said that the group also included athletes, coaches, and family members who were returning home from a development camp in Kansas. 

Moreover, Russian citizens were also onboard the plane, as confirmed by the Kremlin. “There were other of our fellow citizens on board. It’s bad news today from Washington. We are sorry and send our condolences to families and friends,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. 

Trump said 'crash was preventable'

US President Donald Trump called the crash a "terrible accident", saying that he was monitoring the situation closely. 

He further took to Truth Social, raising questions as he said the incident should have been prevented. 

"This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!," he posted. 

Trump blames Biden, Obama for hiring 'mediocre staff'

Trump accused former presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama of lowering air safety standards, saying that Obama allegedly hired "mediocre" staff for air traffic control jobs that require "superior intelligence".

He continued to take a swipe at the former presidents, saying that as he took office in 2016, he changed it, adding that Biden, however, after taking over, changed them back to "lower than before".

“We must have only the highest standards for those who work in our aviation system,” Trump said. “I changed the Obama standards from very mediocre at best to extraordinary.”

(With inputs from agencies)