Long Islanders mourn victims of deadly mid-air collision as details emerge of passengers onboard
A Long Island native says she knows several of the victims who died when an American Airlines flight collided with an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C. Wednesday night.
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A Long Island native says she knows several of the victims who died when an American Airlines flight collided with an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C. Wednesday night.
The mid-air collision happened when the American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas prepared to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport.
Officials believe all 64 people aboard the American Airlines flight and the three soldiers aboard a Black Hawk Helicopter did not survive.
Long Island native and figure skater Audrey Shin woke up to the news of the crash, and immediately tried reaching out to people she thought were on the plane.
Sadly, some of her calls went unanswered. She believes at least five people she knew were on that flight returning from a figure skating competition in Wichita, including one special friend.
"I call her like my little skating sister. She was on the flight with her mom coming back from the skating camp,” she said. "I just feel like it's a dream right now, like a really bad nightmare."
US Figure Skating confirmed several skaters, coaches and family members were on the flight.
"There was a moment where it actually hit and, just crying all morning," said Shin.
In an update this afternoon, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it is still searching for the flight data recorders and hope to have a preliminary report in 30 days.
“The loss of life in an aviation accident is very unusual in the United States,” said NTSB board member Todd Inman. “Our heartfelt sorry goes out to everyone that’s affected. It affects us.”
Farmingdale State College Aviation Associate Professor Michale Canders says pilots have to be well prepared to fly in and around Washington, D.C.
"I've flown that route down there in Washington many, many years ago,” said Canders.
Canders says there are many restrictions, including air speed and altitude restrictions, but says now is not the time to speculate about what caused the crash.
"We let the investigators take a look, determine the probable cause and then we learn the lessons from that,” he said.
Officials have pulled at least 28 bodies from the Potomac River since the crash Wednesday night.
President Trump spoke about the crash today, calling it a dark a tragedy of terrible proportions.
