Plane and helicopter collide midair near Washington, DC, casualties feared

At Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, DC, a jet carrying 64 people collided midair with a military helicopter.

The PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 jet collided with a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter at around 9pm (02: 00 GMT Thursday), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.

“PSA was operating as Flight 5342 for American Airlines. It departed from Wichita, Kansas”, the FAA said in a statement.

No word on the collision’s cause or casualties were released right away. The airport has stopped all takeoffs and landings. First responders set up light towers on the shore of the Potomac River to illuminate the area close to the collision by launching inflatable rescue boats into the water.

The airport will remain open Friday through at least 5 a.m., according to the FAA.

Four crew members and 60 passengers were confirmed by American Airlines as being on the aircraft. Three personnel were being transported by the US army, according to the US army.

A multi-agency search and rescue operation was being conducted in the Potomac River, according to police and fire services.

Both aircraft are in the river.

Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi, reporting from Washington, DC, said there was an “enormous response” at the scene of the crash, including emergency vehicles and boats.

“We should be very clear, this is the main local airport serving the Washington, DC, metropolitan area”, Rattansi said. &nbsp, “We believe that both of those aircraft are in the river. That is now a great source of concern.

The two aircraft collided and exploded into flames, according to a video that was posted on social media.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz said “we know there are fatalities”, without elaborating on the number or the source of his information.

If the fatalities are confirmed, the crash would be the first deadly incident involving a US commercial airline since 2009, when Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed in Buffalo, New York, killing all 49 people on board.

Ronald Reagan Washington national airport, located in Arlington, Virginia, is the closest airport to Washington, DC, lying less than five miles from the US capital.