US citizens express grief over mid-air plane collision in Washington DC

A local, Michelle Boudreau, recounted her experience of listening to the incident and called it heartbreaking

United States citizens on Thursday expressed grief over the mid-air plane collision near Reagan National Airport in Washington DC in which 67 people are feared to be dead.

A local citizen speaking with ANI said that it is one of the worst tragedies to happen in Washington DC.

"When the rescue operations were going on here, as you see it right now, it was similar to this. It wasn't like there was a lot of police. I have seen more police at a traffic stop or at a car accident than I saw here today. But it was really a tragedy... This is one of the worst tragedies to ever happen in the DC area or Arlington in general. It's really sad to see this happen. I'm praying for the community," he told ANI. 

Another local, Michelle Boudreau, recounted her experience of listening to the incident and called it "heartbreaking".

"We listen to a lot of live air traffic controllers and track flights... Last night I was listening and heard everything happening. It was devastating. We usually come here at least once a month to watch the flights land, track them and listen to the controllers. So it felt very personal because I listened constantly and heard it happen. It was pretty heartbreaking," she told ANI.

A mid-air collision occurred between an American Airlines plane and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport outside Washington, DC on Wednesday night. The collision resulted in both aircraft crashing into the Potomac River. US authorities have confirmed that all 67 people are feared to be dead.

Meanwhile, the American Airlines plane's data recorder-also known as black box has been recovered from the Potomac River, CNN reported.

According to CNN, 40 bodies have been recovered from the river so far while the rescue operations continues.

Additionally, US President Donald Trump said that he would be meeting with the families of victims, CNN reported.

"I will be meeting with some people that were very badly hurt with their family member, obviously, but I'll be meeting with some of the families, yeah," Trump said.

Earlier, Donald Trump expressed grief over the loss of lives in the plane crash, calling it a "devastating moment" in the nation's history.

Acknowledging the impact on families across the United States and abroad, including Russian nationals on board, he assured that efforts would be made to determine the cause of the disaster and prevent such incidents in the future.

Addressing a press briefing on the aviation disaster, Trump said, "Sadly, there are no survivors. This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation's capital and in our nation's history and a tragedy of terrible proportions as we grieve for every precious soul that has been taken from us so suddenly. This is really shaking a lot of people, including people from other nations."

Trump also blamed former Democratic Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama for lowering air safety standards.

Trump blamed Obama and Biden for 'putting' policy first instead of the safety of the citizens. He emphasised that the job requires people with "superior intelligence."

"Democrats put policy first and they put politics at a level that nobody's ever seen," Trump said during the press briefing.

"They actually came out with a directive too white and we want the people that are competent," He added.