Some BWI passengers anxious after deadly plane crash in Washington, D.C.
BALTIMORE -- Some passengers felt a little uneasy at BWI Thurgood Marshall on Thursday as they grappled with the news from officials that there were no survivors in the Flight 5342 crash in the Potomac.
The 60-passenger American Airlines flight was preparing to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) when it crashed with an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the river, prompting an overnight ground stop at Reagan.
Air traffic controllers were heard over the radio instructing other incoming flights to divert to nearby airports, including BWI and Washington Dulles International Airport. BWI confirms that a few diverted flights landed there.
Anne Arundel County resident Adam Pohl told WJZ he was a little nervous to fly. He was traveling to Boston with a local basketball team.
"Well, I feel very safe, but no doubt, when you're taking off or you're landing, you're going think a little bit more about it than you would normally," Pohl said.
The NTSB says the investigation is ongoing. An initial report is expected in 30 days.
Reminiscent of 2009
Many flights were canceled until DCA re-opened on Thursday morning, including Mark Poloncarz's flight to Buffalo, N.Y. He eventually rebooked out of BWI.
Poloncarz told WJZ the atmosphere in one of the country's busiest airports went from bustling to somber in a matter of moments.
"It was different," Poloncarz said. "It got really quiet, and just people realizing that not too far from where we were meant a lot of people lost their lives."
Poloncarz said he watched as emergency crews rushed to the runway and then riverbed, searching for victims and debris. As Erie County Executive in Western New York, Poloncarz knows how devastating a crash like this is.
The last U.S. commercial airliner crash with fatalities happened nearly 16 years ago. In February of 2009, Continental Flight 3407, operated by Colgan Air, crashed into a home in Clarence, N.Y., a suburb of Buffalo. The flight from Newark Liberty International was just minutes from landing at Buffalo Niagara International when it crashed into a home, killing 49 people onboard and one person inside the home.
"When I realized that this was a plane crash that was going to result in a lot of lost lives, immediately, my mind went back to Flight 3407," said Poloncarz, who was the county's comptroller in 2009. "But what really struck me is, I'm sitting in this terminal looking out where the emergency vehicles are, realizing that there are probably dozens or more of people deceased in the Potomac and their family members don't even know about the incident."
Flight 3407 led to sweeping reforms in the FAA, including new training requirements and scheduling for pilots. It also led to changes in the safety management systems and equipment inside the cockpit.
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