Gutwrenching DC plane crash countdown with only HOURS to find victims in freezing 8ft water that can kill in minutes
SEARCH teams are set to face a grueling mission as they try to recover all the bodies from the crash between an American Airlines plane and a military helicopter in Washington DC.
Fire and emergency services personnel have warned that weather conditions are already “extremely rough,” and more severe weather is expected in just hours.
On Wednesday, an American Airlines jet that was landing at Reagan National Airport collided with a Black Hawk helicopter that had three people on board.
All 64 people on board the passenger plane are feared to have died as it plunged into the icy Potomac River just before 9 pm.
The collision happened despite the fact it was a clear night.
The air disaster is set to be the deadliest crash since 2009. A Colgan Air plane crashed into a house in Buffalo, New York, killing 45 people.
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And, the operation has now turned into a recovery mission.
Washington DC has been impacted by a cold snap and temperatures could only reach highs of 51F on Thursday.
But, the mercury was hovering around 35F at the time of the crash.
Experts have warned that humans without sufficient layers of protection will only remain conscious for minutes in the freezing waters.
"At these frigid water temperatures, the human body’s core temperature quickly drops," AccuWeather Senior Director of Forecast Operations Dan DePodwin told .
Just moments before landing, it collided with a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.
Details about the people on board the plane have started to emerge in the hours after the tragedy.
One person has been recovered from the helicopter.
Meanwhile, Russian figure skaters Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were on board the jet.
And, several US figure skaters were also passengers.
Hamaad Raza told the CBS affiliate WUSA-TV that his wife was on board the doomed jet.
He said he received a text message from her, which said the plane was only minutes from landing.
But, subsequent messages that he sent did not go through to her.
"That's when I realized something was up," he said.
Raza said his wife had flown to Wichita for work, but revealed she wasn't comfortable flying.
The cause of the collision remains unknown.
But Robert Isom, the CEO of American Airlines, revealed it still remains a mystery why the military helicopter crashed into the plane.
He said the jet's pilots were experienced.
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The captain had worked for American Airlines for six years and the first officer two years.
Operations at Reagan National Airport were halted in the immediate aftermath of the crash but are set to resume at 11 am local time.