STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Let's work through what we know and also what our sources are about a mid-air collision over the Potomac. As with any breaking story, you're going to hear a lot of stuff. We'll try to stick to the facts here. An American Eagle flight from Wichita had 64 people on board last evening when it collided over the Potomac River with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter that had three on board. D.C. Fire now says no survivors, the fire department from Washington, D.C.
U.S. Department of Transportation says both aircraft were doing standard things and standard patterns of flight. U.S. Figure Skating says some of their athletes, coaches and families were on board, coming from an event in Wichita, Kansas. And the Kremlin says Russian skaters were on board, too. NPR's Frank Langfitt is our source for further information. He is at Washington's Reagan National Airport, where there was a briefing earlier today. And, Frank, what jumped out for you?
FRANK LANGFITT, BYLINE: Well, I think the key thing for me was this question that came up, Steve, from the American Airlines CEO Robert Isom. Referring to the American Airlines' American Eagle Flight 5342, he said this.
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ROBERT ISOM: They collided with a military aircraft on an otherwise normal approach. And at this time, we don't know why the military aircraft came into the path of the PSA aircraft.
LANGFITT: PSA, by the way, is a subsidiary of American. But what Isom is getting at is this video that I think many people have seen. It was a clear night, and it appears to show the helicopter heading into the flight path of the jet. And then there's a bright light and a big explosion, and after that of course, both aircraft falling into the Potomac, which, you know, had a lot of ice in it.
INSKEEP: Now, the way that Isom phrases that suggests that he believes the American Airlines, the American Eagle flight was on its normal pattern heading into Runway 33, and that the helicopter was where it wasn't. I guess we need to reserve judgment on that. We'll see what investigators find. But that is the question. Why would two aircraft in normal flights that were in contact, apparently, with air traffic control end up in exactly the same spot over the Potomac River? I understand we're also hearing something today from the defense secretary about the Army helicopter. Frank, what do you got?
LANGFITT: Yeah, what he's saying is that this was a fairly experienced crew, and it was on a proficiency exercise, a night evaluation, and that they were using night vision goggles. But we don't know much more than that. And again, I think you're making an excellent point. These investigations take many, many months. They go on for a long time. It's just the morning after, so it will take a long time to find out exactly what caused this.
INSKEEP: And I suppose, knowing what you know about the Potomac River, it is, I'm sad to say, no surprise that there would be no survivors after this plane ended up upside down in the water.
LANGFITT: Yeah, you know, it's been very cold here in the Washington, D.C., area for quite some time. And there's been ice on the river and elsewhere. And so, apparently, the plane broke into three parts, turned upside down, is in about waist-deep water.
INSKEEP: And again, the total death toll, we don't have all the bodies recovered. We're told there were something like 28 bodies recovered as of earlier this morning, but the total death toll includes 60 passengers, four crew on the American Eagle flight and three U.S. Army personnel on board that Black Hawk helicopter. Frank, thanks so much.
LANGFITT: Good to talk, Steve.
INSKEEP: That's NPR's Frank Langfitt at Washington National Airport, Reagan National Airport, and we'll continue to bring you more as we learn it. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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