The tragic moments before an American Airlines plane collided with an army helicopter have been remembered by an eyewitness.
Sixty passengers, four cabin crew, and three soldiers were among the 67 individuals involved in the incident, which happened last night (January 29).
The two planes collided in midair as they were en route to Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC.
While those on the Black Hawk helicopter were engaged in a training exercise, the commercial flight was departing from Wichita, Kansas.
Eyewitnesses have been coming forward to share their first-hand accounts of what they saw as authorities continue to try to piece together what caused the crash.
Ari Schulman, who frequently travels the George Washington Parkway, is one individual who has spoken out. At the time of the tragedy, he was traveling along this route.
“I always look [at the planes landing] when I’m driving home,” Schulman said in an interview with NBC Washington. It’s always a beautiful, fascinating sight. As they approach land, they are all nicely separated in a lovely line.
Schulman continued by recalling what is thought to have been the American Airlines flight, saying that its route appeared “totally normal” to him. He was eager to see it land, so he turned back onto the road.
“I wanted to get another look to try and see the plane land, so I turned back again a few seconds later and it looked very, very wrong,” he said.
“[The plane] had a sharp rightward turn, perhaps 90 degrees or more. You shouldn’t be able to see the underside of a plane, but I was able to see it because it was so dark outside.
“But it was visible to me. A stream of sparks flowed beneath it, and it was bright yellow in illumination. I thought it resembled a gigantic Roman candle.
As of this writing, 19 bodies have reportedly been recovered from the Potomac River as a result of the collision that occurred last night.
Officials have not yet verified this number, though.
According to DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly, it will be challenging for divers to find the remaining bodies.
He remarked, “The challenges are access,” “The water that we’re operating in is about 8ft deep.”
Donnelly went on: “There are ice fragments and wind outside. It’s simply hazardous and challenging to work in. And since there aren’t many lights, you’re looking everywhere to see if anyone is there.”
