Mike Bouchard left Reagan National Airport just before plane crash
An American Airlines plane headed to Reagan National Airport carrying 60 passengers and four crew collided with an Army helicopter Wednesday night over the Potomac River, leaving what appears to be no survivors, including competitive ice skaters.
"Wow, very sad crash at Washington DC airport," the Oakland County Sheriff's Office posted to social media. "Sheriff Bouchard literally just flew out of there an hour ago after finishing meeting with Major County Sheriffs' of America. Prayers."
Mike Bouchard, who spoke to WDIV-TV (Channel 4), said even though he is in a profession that sees its share of tragedy, the airplane deaths were chilling to him. He added that "every day is a blessing."
A list of who was on board the plane and chopper had not yet been released.
The midair collision just before 9 p.m., prompted network TV stations to break into regularly scheduled broadcasts to offer the latest on Flight 5342, which took off from Wichita, Kansas, and was preparing to land.
The helicopter, military officials said, was a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, flying from Fort Belvoir in Virginia during a training flight with three crew members. The Army is investigating the collision.
By 8:30 a.m. Thursday, USA TODAY reported that John Bonnelly, the chief of Washington's fire department, said 28 bodies had been found and authorities were moving from a "search-and-rescue operation to a recovery operation."
Among those on board were Russian-born ice skating coaches and former world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, according to Reuters, which attributed the news to the Kremlin and state media.
Other passengers, Reuters also reported, included American skaters, their coaches and families, who were returning from Kansas, where the National Development Camp was held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
The crash grounded all flights at National Airport, and by Thursday, there were a dozen cancellations and delays in and out of Detroit Metro Airport, according to FlightAware, which tracks airline data.
More: DC plane crash: what to know about deadly incidents since 2001
Officials from Kansas, including U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, called the crash a tragedy.
The crash was reminiscent of another more than 40 years ago, when on Jan. 13, 1982, a jet headed to Tampa, Florida, collided into a bridge over the Potomac River, killing 78 people including some on land in cars.
Five of the 79 aboard the jet survived.
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mike Bouchard left Reagan National Airport just before plane crash
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