WASHINGTON D.C. - The Associated Press reports that at least 28 people have been found dead from the crash of an Army helicopter and American Airlines plane Wednesday night. President Donald Trump also confirmed Thursday that there are no survivors of the incident.
The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas to the Reagan Washington National Airport collided with the Black Hawk helicopter around 8:53 p.m. According to NBC, The Skating Club of Boston confirmed 14 ice skaters were returning from the national development camp in Kansas. Of the skaters killed, six were from the skating club, two coaches and two teenage athletes and their mothers. Russian state media also confirmed to NBC that Russian figure skaters and coaches were also on board.
“Skating is a very close and tight-knit community,” Doug Zeghibe, CEO, told NBC Boston, “I think for all of us, we have lost family.”
Trump addressed the press at about 11 a.m. saying that with no survivors, the work has shifted from a rescue mission to a recovery one. The president went on to say that the "FAA diversity push" was to blame for this incident, in an NBC Special Report.
"We are going to take responsibility at the Department of Transportation and the FAA to make sure we have the reforms that have been dictated by President Trump in place to make sure that these mistakes do not happen again and again," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.