US President Donald Trump confirmed that there were no survivors in the collision of a passenger plane and a military helicopter over Washington yesterday, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Earlier today, the fire chief in the US capital said that all 67 people who were on board the two aircraft - 64 in the plane and three in the helicopter - are presumed dead.
The cause of the crash has not yet been established, but investigators suggested that the tragedy could have been prevented.
Trump confirmed that the cause is still unclear, but noted that authorities have some very strong assumptions.
There were several Russians on board the plane, talented people, he added.
It was previously reported that among the passengers were figure skating coaches and competitors, including the 1994 world champions in pairs sports - Russians Evgenia Shishkina and Vadim Naumov.
The US Department of Defense, for its part, said that the crew of the military helicopter was experienced and equipped with night vision goggles. Flights of aircraft from the unit from the state of Virginia, where the helicopter was based, have been suspended for 48 hours.
Regarding the deaths of Russian citizens in the plane crash, Trump said that the US is in contact with Moscow, Reuters reported. Asked if Washington would facilitate the return of the remains of the Russians who died, Trump said the answer was “Yes”. The president added that there were passengers of other nationalities on the plane.
Trump also said that the trajectory followed by the military helicopter was incredibly bad, adds Agence France-Presse. He added that in connection with the crash, there was a set of bad decisions that were made.
Trump also said that the air traffic control systems were not built properly, Reuters reported. He said a lot of money had been spent on upgrading the systems, with the amounts being much larger than would have been the money for a new air traffic control system. Trump mentioned that there are certain companies that do a very good job in this area, but their services have not been used.