and then it will be a matter of whether or not there is a change or an additional amount of resources that are needed, perhaps some changes in terms of the rules that govern the flights up and down the potomac in this very, very busy area. but, the national transportation safety board will have a say in it and they will be reviewing -- this is a terrible tragedy. right now we hold those families close. we think about them. we think about the crews and also those first responders that have been out there all night long. take care of them and recognize they are all trying to do the best job they can. and do our best not to get in their way over the next couple of days. >> todd: understood. senator michael rounds, thank you, sir. obviously we had the senator on to talk about the events on capitol hill. all of that is not important right now when we think about these lost lives. >> carley: no. >> todd: "fox & friends" continues our coverage right now. ♪ steve steve it is 6:00 in washington, d.c.

we start this special edition of "fox & friends" with a fox news alert. breaking right now in washington, a race against time on the potomac river as first responders search the water after an american airlines flight from wichita, kansas collided with a u.s. army black hawk helicopter in mid-air right near reagan national airport. here is what we know. 06 passengers and four crew members on board the passenger cigarette wichita. three soldiers on the black hawk which was on a training flight from fort bell car. as of now, despite earlier reports. there are no signs of survivors. >> ainsley: the mid-air collision happened as the plane was approaching the runway just before 9:00 last night. it was caught on camera. we have a warning the footage of this crash that we are about to show you is very hard to watch. >> brian: the plane is circled in red. after a few moments, you can

clearly see the mid-air explosion. we learned passengers on the flight had just left the u.s. figure skating championships in kansas. u.s. figure skating saying this, quote: we are devastated by unspeakable tragedy and hold the victim's families closely in our hearts. >> this is what we know. president trump has been fully briefed on the situation. saying may god bless the victims' souls and in roughly an hour and a half, d.c. mayor, muriel bowser and first responders will hold a press briefing at reagan international airport. lucas tomlinson is fly a alexandria a virginia crash site with the latest on the multi--agency response. lucas, what do you know? >> >> good morning, guys. we're awaiting another press conference at 7:30 this morning reagan international airport. the airport will be closed until at least 11:00 a.m. this morning. this is still an active search

and rescue operation taking place behind me on the potomac river. i'm going to step aside, show you some of the more than 300 first responders that are offer scenes 14th street bridge and potomac river from arresting international airport. just to repeat this coalition took place before 9:00 p.m. last night. 5342 inbound from wichita, kansas with 60 passengers aboard and four crew members was on short final about to land at reagan international airport outside the nation's capitol it. collided with the u.s. navy black hawk helicopter. the airliner was seconds from landing on runway 33 at reagan international airport. the airliner was a crj 700 series, that's a regional jet. 64 people on board. 60 passengers and four crew with three soldiers aboard the black hawk. the army in a state saying we can confirm that the aircraft involved in tonight's incident

was army ua 60 black hawk helicopter from bravo 12th aviation battalion fort bell advisor during a training flight. we are working with local officials and provide additional information once it becomes available. fort bell advisor is about 14 miles south of here. that unit flies vip, army brass around the nation's capitol. we are told none on board. frequent frequent site over the nation's capitol. air corridor above interstate 395 and over the potomac river where this army black hawk helicopter was flying flying south from the nation's capital over the potomac. 5342 was come in from the south making a right turn -- if you have that map again, guys, to show you banking short final

about to land. pilots would have been focused on landing the aircraft, flaps down getting ready to touch down. right now we have a lot of anxious families waiting words on loved ones, the water temperatures here we say inauguration day. you read the statement from u.s. figure skating. we're also learning that a kremlin spokesman said russian figure skaters on board along with other russian citizens. skaters part of the 2025 u.s. figure skating championships held in wichita last week and new transportation secretary sean duffy who had just been sworn in to office, he took part in that first press conference about 1:00 in the morning along with d.c. mayor muriel bowser. i expect them both back at reagan for the press conference at 7:30. also learning on a different flight. a diverted flight. a former dhs secretary alejandro

mayorkas on another american airlines flight diverted before landing here that plane returned to new york. he was seen leaving first class with a member of the security detail. and that's the latest from here alongside the to tomorrow mac. along pa tomorrow mac. how unusual is it for a training mission 23409d uncommon, brian. anyone around the d.c. area knows black hawks are a common site. the pentagon is on the other side of reagan international airport. on a daily basis you have black hawks landing at the helipad at the pentagon. just driving on 395 it's not uncommon to see a pair of black hawks with external fuel tanks just streaming overhead. shut ling vips around.

taking officials to various meetings. of course, this is our nation's capital. cia headquarters in langley. you have the pentagon. planes flying outs of fort bell advisor. from the marine base at quantity quantico. these visual flight rules. looking out the window to make sure that a collision like this doesn't happen. >> steve: well, to your point, when it was dca before it was renamed reagan national. it was built to handle 5 million travelers a year. it is now holding and handling 25 million. the air volume is way up one of

the things local officials are concerned about. to your point that, is one of the most complicated airspaces in the world. because you have got for the most part, you know, you have got the traffic going to the white house. you talked a little bit about marine one. it looks like this black hawk was following the correct route when suddenly, inexpick cab gli turned into the airplane i were on a clear approach. the chopper it looks like just runs into it. >> runway 33 that corpsdz with the compass, steve. that would be heading of 330. so, just to the northwest, just, you know, 360 is due north. just to the northwest. those pilots aboard the airliner were focused on landing their aircraft short final seconds from landing. this coalition took place somewhere between 200 and 400 feet above the poo tom mac.

helicopter flying south from the nation's capitol. turned behind the aircraft. it's not clear why that coalition took place. we heard some of the audio from the tower. of course, aircraft would have been speaking to the tower here in the dca. reagan national airport. but just a tragedy here on the pooment last night, seeing how 15 minutes within the water hype therm i can't is hard to survive in that condition. even if they did survive the crash? >> that's right. lawrence. these are frigid temperatures in the potomac behind me. only have about a 20 minute survival time if you are in the potomac. certainly every first responder

who is able responds to this incident over 300, we're told. ever since first call came out over the radio. ambulances, police, fire trucks, coast guard as well. have you seen some boats in the water. i'm not sure if you have that imagery. boats searching for survivors. and they have not stopped. they are not calling this is a recovery operation right now. still an active search and rescue. we have first light is about 6:4 a 5 this morning that would help the first responders searching r any of the victims. 06 passengers on board the airline and 4 crew liners and three on board the black hawk. >> ainsley: thank you so much, lucas. hard to see in the water. sun is going to come up and see more of the rescue crews out there. kristi noem and we will gets into this later said she is sending out the coast guard and hundreds of men and women are out there. these are american lives. and many of them might have been from kansas.

because the flight was coming from kansas and landing in d.c. some of the ice skaters that were on board had just completed that competition. we know doo know the kremlin is saying russian ice skater and a coach on the plane as well. we'll learn more about who was on that plane, how many of them were americans. there will be that press conference today at 7:30. we will, of course, be carrying that live. last night i was texting with a pilot friend of mine. this is what he said. it's extremely common for helicopters to operate and coexist out of large airports like reagan; however, the helicopters when maneuvering have to maintain strict vigilance visual whether i all the traffic and comply with all the atc instructions the air traffic control. landing airplane always has the right-of-way over the helicopter. the traffic collision warning system is a signal in each aircraft. everyone has to have that every plane that will detect and share one another's position and also with air traffic control. that is mandated to be on when

operating. it's possible for a pilot to get easily confused with the atc instruction, specifically if it's an airport not previously visited or is new to the crew. another factor is lighting cues that can be misinterpreted and confused with airport layout. >> brian: right before they crashed. one of the air traffic controllers the interchange was can you see the plane? he said yeah. can i see it. and then other people have said well helicopter pilots are always looking down. not usually looking up. >> ainsley: janice said it was clear, the conditions. >> lawrence: this morning i had the opportunity to talk to the president. he is up working this morning first he offered his condolences to the families out there. wanted the american people to know he is praying for these families. they got some rough news last night. they are praying that their family members can be recovered. but he also said that he found

the video that he has been able to see that has seen extremely disturbing. but cautioned that we have to wait for the investigation. but he says just from a visual, seeing that helicopter's path doesn't look good. is he depending on -- he says he has the right people in charge of these agencies he wants to get answers very quickly. it doesn't look good. we have to wait for the investigation. >> brian: think about the amount of planes he has bought and been on. pilots, harpts when atlantic city. when he had all these properties down in atlantic city. he had to do that like four times a week. so he is very familiar with air travel. much more than just a passenger. >> steve: sure. to your point, about what the president told you, lawrence, you know, that flight from wichita, the american eagle, you know, it has the super bright light. it's heading toward our point of view where that camera is. and then you can see just very faintly that black hawk helicopter takes a turn right

into it there is a story this morning in the "new york times" that says that according to their source there's were 1 figure skaters, not counting parents and coaches on board. and they were american and they were russian. and they were just following up a training camp that follows the national figure skating championships in wichita, kansas. kansas is my home state. this is very personal. i have been talking to some people about if they knew anybody on board. nobody does at this point because nobody has been identified for the most part. the senator from the great state of kansas, roger marshall, talked a little bit about the impact of what happened last night on the potomac. >> >> i want the folks back home to just know that we care, that we love them. and that this is a time when we'll have to join arms together. and help each other out. we have been through things like

this before through tornadoes and floods and things, but it's really hard when you lose, you know, probably over sixth kansans simultaneously i don't want to forget the pilots and flight attendants who do their job and military personnel we lost. all those lives are so valuable. it is such tragedy that we lost them. >> brian: new route. search and rescue efforts unfold. 40 degrees outside. the water in the potomac is 35. >> lawrence: water around the time of the crash was not extraordinary. the water temperatures making rescue efforts more difficult. >> ainsley: janice dean is here 'with more. >> janice: it's devastating. the temperatures around freezing it doesn't take long for hypothermia to shut down body

temperatures go down. vitals start to malfunction your heart and lungs. all the respiratory conditions issues just start to fail when you are in water that temperature. this is approximate location of the crash. rescue crews are out there. concerned about their safety as well. it's still dark out there. temperatures are still very cold. they are going to look at the weather conditions at the time of the crash. and as far as i can see, there are no big weather concerns at all. we didn't have any snow scwawlsz. we didn't have any rain in the forecast. winds here in the northeast were very gusty, when i woke up i thought my gosh the winds might have been a factor. but, at the time of the crash, the winds were light. winds are light 5 to 10 miles per hour. you can see the radar. this is when the crash happened, 8:30, 9:00 p.m., really nothing in the forecast there at washington, d.c. 40-degree temperatures right now, last week we were into that

deep freeze with single dujt wind chills. that's not the case. it's still very cold. but that's average for this time of year. and there's your forecast for the next several hours. we're going to have an update at 7:30. sun is going to come up. hopefully that will help crews on the scene. we are expecting rain in the forecast. storm system that was across the plain states, moving into the mid-atlantic and northeast. so rain is going to hamper some efforts as we get into thursday and friday. something to watch for. flight delays, obviously, are going to be significant in and around the washington, d.c. airport. we already have disrupted flights, cancellations and that kind of thing. so, as far as we can see, forecastwise, weather was not a factor. winds were light. conditions were clear. the temperatures, unfortunately in the potomac are very cold and it doesn't take long for hype therm i can't to set in hippo ti

can't to set in. we are concerned with first responders, over 300 out there and they are v. to deal with the cold conditions as well. >> steve: indeed. thank you. exile pilot and aviation expert joins us right now. kyle, good morning. >> good morning ripways and extra training. the pilots are landing over a river it adds a bunch of other factors to it. you can't really see anything when you are over water. it's just black. talk a little bit about the complications because we don't know yet what happened. but just the complications of landing at reagan at night over water. >> it's pretty much the perfect storm of everything. you have an airport in a very highly populated area. lots of lights down there. then you also have the dark

river where those red and green navigation lights on helicopter might not be that easily visible. and you have the most complex, most highly restricted airspace in the entire world right around that airport. it's very similar to lauderdale airport. the helicopter was most likely on a helicopter corridor similar to what we have in new york if anyone has flown into laguardia airport. the airplane has a blind spot. imagine sitting in the front of the airplane and looking backwards out the window where those wings are behind you is a natural blind spot if that helicopter was in the center coming from behind, you pretty much have a blind spot there. and pretty much pilots are looking forward, looking to the side and looking up and down. and you know, in the airplane. you are usually not looking behind you or kind of down behind you. so, it's pretty much the set up is the perfect storm of

everything. >> ainsley: kyle, every aircraft has to have this traffic collision warning system. what do you think happened there? when you watch the video as a pilot, what do you think happened? >> you know, normally, if this wasn't in such close proximity to an airport, you could say that maybe whoever was in the cockpit is just too over reliant on complex collision warning systems. might be alarms going off and they are disbarring it and their eyes might not be out the window like they should be. but, in this case where you are so close to the airport and you know there is active helicopter route near you, and that it's most likely military aircraft on that route, which are highly trained pilots and everything is very structured you might toned assume that those helicopters on that route are staying below a certain published altitude your eyes should always be out that

window. and even though you're on flight plan, the controllers are supposed to provide separation. you should always be aware of what is around you at all times out the window. and i'm not sure if they were on a visual approach. if they were on a visual approach 3-1. unlike if you are on, say, an ifr full approach with very reduced visibility. visual approach looking forward trying to get a visual. the interesting point here is apparently the helicopter did kind of confirm that the traffic was in sight. that the aircraft was in sight. so the question is, could he have mistaken a different helicopter for that helicopter, actually, that's reverse, my apologies. >> steve: a different plane. >> could the helicopter have mistaken a different aircraft

you could see an aircraft above them. >> lawrence: in a situation where it appears that the helicopter t-boned the plane, who has the right-of-way airplane or helicopter? >> airplane has right right-of-way. if he was cleared to land, the airplane would have had the right-of-way according to the regulations in this instance. that's pretty much the way it is. it is the pilot's responsibility to see and avoid taught. like i said, if the aircraft be -- if it's t-boned coming from the side or behind, there is not of the pilot of the airplane could do. another thing i want to point out, too. in military operations, helicopter operations, especially at low altitude, the pilots are trained to pretty much look at terrain, look

straight ahead. you are really not looking, you know, up into the sky, you are pretty much looking down and looking ahead. >> brian: so, lastly, should you be training n airspace this buy at night. >> you know, brian, i can't overemphasize how safe the system is in the united states. and just look at the last time we have had a major a large passenger cabin u.s. based airline crash in the u.s. excluding the colden crash prop not since shortly after september 11th. the military does such phenomenal job at training pilots. and these pilots fly into this airspace flying for airlines are extremely well-trained. this is kind of like the one in a million. it's almost like getting struck by lightning two times it's very

rare. if this was two small aircraft in the middle of a cornfield or 15 miles away from an airport, i would say it's not out of the ordinary for this to happen it w. a commercial airliner and military aircraft so close to an airport pretty much like getting struck lie lightning. >> ainsley: very rare. >> steve: thank you very much for joining us. >> brian: so much to the story we don't know. >> we'll learn more at 7:30. press conference. first responders are fighting to find survivors after this d.c. plane crash. the senate intel committee chair tom cotton will join us next. ♪

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then my press badge and we were able to get in. so now we are at terminal one by baggage claim for a. and this is where the news conference will be held later on this morning in about an hour or so. so we do expect dc mayor muriel bowser to be here. we're waiting on word on who else will be here as well. i have to tell you, brian, it is a bit eerie being here. we had a reagan national airport. of course, this at this time especially, will usually see a lot of people here catching their early flights. but right now it is just members of the press and some employees because of course, the airport is closed until 11 a.m. eastern time. and pardon that, you can hear them doing a mic check right now again, for that news conference that is set to take place in about an hour. i do want to show you this board behind me that i'm hoping my photographer, christian, can pan over. you'll see the message over here. it says due to an emergency situation, reagan national airport is currently closed. passengers,

please see your airline representative for additional information. of course, we believe that is a bit outdated because right now we are not seeing any passengers. all we are seeing are members of the press and again some employees as well. so speaking about that massive search and rescue operation just happening outside of reagan national airport, there are so many resources here, federal, state and local resources as one would imagine. transportation secretary sean duffy saying that he is pledging the support of his department, the department of transportation, as well as the faa, especially when it comes to the national transportation safety board's investigation, which the ntsb will sean duffyspeaking about the int night. >> i spoke with president trump. and his team in the situation room. i had a conversation with secretary pete hegseth. as well and then with the kansas delegation and the mayor. and others in others in leadership as well as governor young from virginia and governor kelly from kansas. >> homeland security secretary

nome is pledging the support of her department as well. here is the post she wrote on x. she sells we are deploying every available coast guard resource for search and rescue efforts in this horrific incident at dca. we are actively monitoring the situation and stand ready to support local responders. pray for the victims and first responders, also this morning, defense secretary pete hegseth says the army and defense department will be doing an investigation into what happened here. so, again, back out here live, at reagan international airport, we are expecting a news conference 7:30 a.m. eastern time. we will, of course, give you the latest from that news conference as soon as we have it, brian. back to you. >> brian: all right, maddy, thanks so much. we will be out with you constantly especially in the next hour. meanwhile, bring in g.o.p. senator tom cotton. he sit on the senate armed services committee where he is chair. senator, your thoughts about what we know so far? what's your overriding question? >> well, brian, this is a terrible tragedy. my prayers go out to the victims and the families the first responders who are still working

on recovery efforts. obviously it's still very early in this tragedy. the sun has not even risen yet over washington, d.c. after this nighttime accident. there are a lot of questions to be asked. i don't want to jump to conclusions on them though. but there will be a lot of researching and investigating to what exactly happened to be sure that we have all the answers for the american people and obviously something like this can never happen again. >> brian: have you gotten a high level briefing yet? >> i have not. that's not unusual. again, it happened last night around most people's bedtime. did i happen to speak with the president shortly after the incident. he was following it closely. obviously he was distraught over the loss of life as well. but i know that he and his team are monitoring the situation and pulling all resources they can to help local authorities in the washington, d.c. area. >> brian: senator, you were telling me underlines the speed we have to confirm the president's nominees. omb. we saw the miscommunication coming out of that office that led to the suspending some of the spending things that they

were talking about. and now we have sean duffy gets the job at transportation, two hours later he is in the middle of a crisis. that underlines the importance of today's hearing which you will chair with tulsi gabbard as she efforts to become the next leader of the dni. what should we know about dueling's nomination? >> i support tulsi gabbard's demonstration. i have been working with her to move towards confirmation. and i look forward to working with her for four years for the badly needed reforms in our intelligence community. our intelligence community has grown too bloated. too bureaucratic doesn't do enough collection of evidence. focuses on way too many secondary priorities better served in other parts of the government. tulsi gabbard understands. this she spent more than 20 years in uniform serving our nation. she is ready to serve again in this position. and i look forward to the hearing today, which she can explain her views, her plans, her policies for the office of the director of national

intelligence to make sure that our nation's leaders have the intelligence we need to make critical national security decisions. >> brian: going in, have you made a decision on whether you will -- will you support her? >> yes. i support tulsi gabbard's nomination. and i'm looking forward to working with her for the next four years together to work on those reforms at the office of the director of national intelligence. >> what does her past views have to do with her getting this position and what should we keep in mind if people look at her past and say that seems to be counter to what president trump has done in the past or what we have done in the past whether relations with syria, views on nato, taking out of soleimani. a lot of that is counter to what donald trump has done and said. >> well, as we have seen with all these nominees, like robert kennedy yesterday, sometimes they do have views opposed to what president trump has said or campaigned on or in mr. kennedy's case they campaigned against him and said tough things about him. as mr. kennedy said yesterday,

it's the president's administration. he will advise the president decide. same thing with ms. gashed. she was a former democratic congresswoman. i know her well. we were elected together to the house of representatives 2012. she understands it's the president's administration. she will also give her best advice but the president will make decisions. when it comes to reforming the law, it will be congress that writes the law and the president will sign the law. she will implement it. i think that there is instances where you will have a lot of democrats critical of her today because she finally saw the light and left the democratic party and came over to the republican side. >> brian: senator, is there a chance that you will postpone this today or is this going to go off? >> no. we need to move ahead with these hearings. i think the fact that we confirmed sean duffy to be secretary of transportation just hours before this horrific tragedy outside of washington, d.c. shows why these hearings and votes are important. we need politically accountable and responsible officials at the heads of these departments. you never know when a moment of

crisis will strike. last night i was with the department of transportation. next week it could be with another cabinet department or agency. it's important that we move forward promptly with all these nominations so we have responsible and politically accountable officials leading these government departments and agencies doing their vital work. >> brian: and your advice to tulsi, keep your cool? looks like they goal after her personally just like they did r.f.k. and just like they did with pete hegseth. >> unfortunately, i think they may. there's a lot of unfair accusations in the press. hillary clinton has even questioned her patriotism. called her an asset of a foreign country. i understand people that may have differences with ms. gashed. she has a long voting record of 8 years in the house. we didn't vote together on a lot of issues i hope no one questions her patriotism, her integrity and loyalty to our country served 20 years nation's

uniform. five background checks. i reviewed one last week more than 300 pages clean as a whistle. fine and appropriate to explore different policy views know one should be questioning tulsi gabbard's patriotism. >> great composure and communications. we will see that today. kash patel is also up and his hearings will begin today, too. r.f.k. comes back for another round. thanks so much, senator. >> thank you, brian. >> brian: straight ahead. this morning american airlines a hotline for families of passengers to call in with any information. your number is on the screen. 1-800-679-8215. our coverage continues with former army special forces member who lives just over a mile away from the crash. ♪ ever feel like a spectator in your own life with chronic migraine? 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting 4 hours or more. botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine.

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hundreds of first responders are searching the potomac river right now after a mid-air collision last night between an american airline flight and an army helicopter near reagan international airport lucas tomlinson lye near the scene of the crash as this massive response unfolds. lucas, what can you tell us? >> well, good morning, lawrence. we're just minutes away from first light here along the banks of the potomac river where last night at approximately 9:00 p.m. a mid-air collision took place with an american airlines flight 5342 flying in from wichita, kansas, collided with a u.s. army black hawk helicopter. the american airlines flight was on short final about to land on runway 33 at reagan international airport behind me when the collision occurred. the airliner was a crj # hundred series regional jet. there were 64 people on board. 60 passengers along with four crew members. there were three soldiers that includes two pilots aboard the black hawk when that collision

took place over the potomac. the army putting out a statement we can confirm that the aircraft involved in last night's incident was an army uh 60 helicopter from bravo company 12th aviation battalion out of davison army airfield fort belvoir. we will provide additional information once it becomes available. now, lawrence, fort belvoir is located about 14 miles south of here in virginia. that unit typically flies vips and other army brass. on a typical day over the nation's capitol in northern virginia black hawk helicopters are a common sight in the skies. corridor above 3 # 5 and over the pooment river that's where flying in a southerly direction from washington. again that airline was on short final on runway 33. had just banked just on over the state of maryland just coming in on a northwesterly heading to that runway.

runway 33 of course correspondence with the compass heading of 330 so slightly northwest 330 being true north when that collision occurred. right now there is an active search and rescue operation going. as you can see from the images over 300 first responders are along the banks of the potomac in the river. a lot of search and rescue vessels. right now there are many anxious family members waiting words on their loved ones. the water temperatures are near freezing here in the potomac. a bit warmer yesterday here in washington, d.c. about 60 degrees. this water temperature behind me is still near freezing a as we saw during the inauguration. artic light temperatures here in the nation's. >> capri: tall. survival rates in the potomac, mid collision took place 9:00 p.m. last night fox news has also learned on a separate flight dhs secretary mayorkas was on another american airlines flight coming into reagan that

plane was diverted. sent back to laguardia. and mayorkas was seen leaving first class and going back to the airport. but, right now, along the banks of the potomac, again we are getting ready for first light here which people hope will help in search and rescue operations. that's all for now here on the banks of the potomac. send it back to you, lawrence. >> lawrence: praying for those folks as they prepare for some unthinkable news. thanks, lucas. so our next guest lives about a mile away from the crash site. jim hanson erved served in the u.s. army special forces and kind enough to join us this morning. jim, it's good to see you, brother. when you look at the video. what immediately alarms you as someone that. >> there is a lot of collision avoidance gear on both of the aircraft. it's difficult to understand, absent some sort of technical

malfunction how at the didn't manage to be alerted that they were on a collision course. not uncommon fly at night for commercial and especially military pilots. oan training mission like this that would be part of the profile is to practice for the crowded skies. the, you know, lights that distract. all of the difficulties. and unfortunately, something went horrifically wrong on this mission. >> lawrence: more than likely those pilots of that we won't be able to interview them. what type of equipment on board that helicopter will would he be able to retrieve to get some data about what happened? >> yeah. i think both aircraft are going to have the type of information about flight, you know, characteristics and how they were going to speed the of the aircraft. what maneuvers have been made

and all those kind of things. reportings of air traffic controllers. this is not unknown thing. they have well established way to investigate these things. i hope that we end up finding out that this was unfortunately something that could not be avoided and that seems the likely outcome. >> lawrence: we all pray that jim hanson, someone that's been in this business for a long time, we appreciate it, sir. >> good to be with you. >> lawrence: so the national transportation safety board now on the scene. and so is john roberts. we're talking to him, next. ♪ ♪ oh yeah. borrow up to a hundred thousand dollars to consolidate bad debt and save money for your next goal. take a swing at your kitchen reno... meant that literally.

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>> steve: all right. a fox news alert if you are just tuning in or waking up we are monitoring the search and rescue operation in washington, d.c. after an army black hawk helicopter and a commercial airline operated by american eagle collided mid-air last night. we are waiting update from officials it should happen about 40 minutes from right now. >> brian: john roberts host of "america reports" is on the scene in alexandria right now and joins us for the first time.

john, you got this aviation background. your thoughts about what you are seeing and what we have learned? >> brian, steve, and ainsley, we are with the marine that which is off the south point of runway one here there are two runways at reagan airport coming from the south. there is number one and number 33, which was the runway that the aircraft was lining up for. and then have you got 1 and 15 come from the south. all of these are river approaches here because of noise abatement and security. if you are coming from the north. you really have to fly meandering route down the potomac river and make a sharp right hand turn to get onto the runway at reagan. coming up from the south the approach is a lot easier, not as much swinging back and forth. runway 33 you got to come up of potomac river and take a little bit of a sharp left to get in. it's just about at that point where this collision happened. i will say because i spend early all summer out on this river, the water where the plane went down seems to be pretty shallow.

there is a ship channel runs up there 31 feet deep on the far eastern side of the river. all of the water is a big sandbar that comes out. mud bar, really. it's between 7 and 12 feet deep. it's my understanding. we haven't seen pictures yet that a wing ever the plane is sticking up out of the river. it's going to make search and rescue efforts much easier than if the plane was in deep water. but the fact that the plane came down so hard after that collision with the helicopter means that officials are -- hoping for the best but you got to prepare for the worst. i mean, this is shocking washington in ways that it hasn't been shocked in terms of aviation here since 1982. january 22nd when that air florida flight was flying north -- i believe it was out of runway 1 couldn't get altitude because the wings were too heavily iced and crashed into the 14th street bridge and many of us who were around at that time or saw the pictures afterwards remember the iconic images of that woman being lifted out of the icy potomac river by a helicopter.

the river has cleared out. it was literally covered in ice for the last couple of weeks as we had the frigid temperatures here in washington, d.c. so that's going to make search and rescue efforts a little easier than it would have been if this had happened last week. remember, that truck went off the arlington memorial bridge and crashed through the ice. police divers went down and unfortunately found two occupants who had expired in the vehicle itself. again, brian, they are hoping for the best here. but when you take a look at video of what happened last night, that collision between the black hawk helicopter and that rj 700 aircraft, you really have to think that the -- there may be survivors and it would be miracle but that plane went down very hard. >> steve: it did, indeed. john, you know being around washington all the time. you know that there are military aircraft, particularly the black hawk, that fly just a couple hundred feet off the ground all day and all night. and we saw a lot of it last week for the inaugural. but it is just one of those

things. and it looks like right now because and shortly we are going to show the video again of the actual collision it. looks like some sort of a miscommunication and the chopper just simply flew into the airplane. >> there would have had to have been some sort of miscommunication or misperception because these planes come in every few minutes particularly at night. #:00 at night getting the last flights of the fight arriving at reagan airport. i know from being out on the river police helicopters fly about 150 feet over us. uh 60s are going up and down this river you will of the time. the president's helicopters are flying around from joint base. there is a lot of aircraft in this airspace, whether they be airliners or whether they be official aircraft and military or police i was wonder with such crowded airspace and difficult approaches, particularly from the north here at reagan airport, if something like this

could happen, but you just don't expect it to because everybody is supposed to know what is going on out there. the idea that the army helicopter was on a training mission. i mean, they are always experienced pilots at the controls. it makes you wonder what wires got crossed here for that aircraft to go across an approach to a very, very busy runway that resulted in this collision, steve, it's going to be, obviously, a big investigation to find out how this happened because, clearly, something like that should not happen. >> ainsley: that's why we are all scratching our heads. it's the busiest runway in america. you have to have extra training to fly around that area. and air traffic control was right there. it wasn't over a big field. you have -- it's a bombard yea sikorsky helicopter. two of the best companies that produce aircraft you the collision warning system has he to be on board, john, that's a siren that goes off looking at locations of other aircraft around your current plane or

helicopter maybe they couldn't see. maybe there was a blind spot and they didn't know what way to turn don't have you two pilots on choppers in case there is a health emergency on board? >> oh, yeah. >> oh yeah. three crew members. flying on reagan airport the pilots are extremely busy. i don't know how many times i have flown in and out of here the pilots come on the intercom and give a final landing briefing. and then they say we're going to be very busy for the next few minutes so the last you will hear from us. they are keeping eyes open. they are flying the plane back and forth. particularly when you come from the north. it's a really really meandering route with a very hard right hand turn over the 14th street bridge at the end come in the point and land on the runway 31, i believe it