ATLANTA — After an American Airlines passenger jet and Army helicopter collided over the Potomac River in Washington D.C. on Wednesday night, several flights between Atlanta and Washington, D.C. have been impacted on Thursday.
According to WSBTV, Washington, D.C. officials announced that Ronald Reagan National Airport is shut down until 11 a.m. leading to at least 500 flight cancellations, according to FlightAware’s tracking website.
FlightAware also currently shows there are nine canceled flights and one delayed flight from Reagan National Airport in the metro Washington, D.C. area to Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Thursday morning.
On flights from Atlanta to Washington, D.C., there are five canceled and one flight delayed.
The American Airlines jet was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members when it collided with the Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport.
Crews are conducting a large search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River. There were multiple fatalities, according to a person familiar with the matter, but the precise number of victims was unclear as rescue crews hunted for any survivors.
President Donald Trump said he had been “fully briefed on this terrible accident” and, referring to the passengers, added, “May God Bless their souls.”