Minnesota native killed in D.C. plane crash, family friends say
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota native is among those who died when a passenger jet and a Black Hawk helicopter collided in midair Wednesday night near Reagan National Airport, family friends tell WCCO.
The woman grew up in Mahtomedi and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina for work, according to a friend. WCCO is not naming the woman pending confirmation her family has been notified of her death.
A GoFundMe set up by friends to help support the woman's family has raised more than $35,000 in less than 24 hours.
"Her love, kindness, and unwavering spirit touched everyone who knew her, and her absence leaves a void that can never be filled," the fundraiser says about the victim.
The FAA says around 9 p.m., American Eagle Flight No. 5342 collided midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while approaching a runway at Reagan National Airport. The plane, a regional jetliner, had been carrying 60 passengers and four crew members on a flight from Wichita, Kansas.
Three soldiers were aboard the helicopter, a Defense Department official told CBS News. It was on a training flight and had belonged to B Company, 12th Aviation Battalion out of Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
As of Thursday morning, District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief John Donnelly says 27 bodies have been recovered from the plane and one from the helicopter.
President Trump confirmed Thursday that there were no survivors.
A livestream camera at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., captured the moment of the collision. The video, which has been verified by CBS News, shows an explosion in the area of the Potomac River at 8:47 p.m. Eastern.
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