Air traffic controllers warned US Army helicopter ahead of crash: audio

Air traffic controllers warned a US Army helicopter it was on course to collide with a passenger jet, with audio captured from the deadly accident ending in audible gasps from those in the control room.

In a deadly mid-air collision Wednesday night, the helicopter struck the Bombardier plane operated by an American Airlines subsidiary as it was approaching for landing at Reagan National Airport.

After a "fireball" explosion, both aircraft shot into the icy Potomac River.


"Pat 2-5 do you have the CRJ in sight?" a controller asked, using the call sign for the Black Hawk helicopter, asking if it could see the airplane.

"Pat 2-5, pass behind the CRJ," the controller requested.

Gasps could then be heard moments later, with one voice asking "tower, did you see that?"

"I just saw a fireball and then it was just gone. I haven't seen anything since they hit the river. But it was a CRJ and a helicopter that hit," another air traffic controller said after the crash.

Massive first responder operations were underway overnight into Thursday morning, though the prospects of finding survivors looked grim.

Local media reported more than 30 bodies had been pulled from the dark, murky waters, where temperatures were low enough to induce hypothermia within 30 minutes, according to experts.

The airplane would have had the right of way if it was cleared to land, Kyle Bailey, a pilot and aviation expert, told Fox News.