American Airlines boss expresses 'deep sorrow' after Washington DC plane crash

American Airlines CEO briefs after plane carrying 60 crashes into army helicopter Source: americanair

Transcript

00:00I'm Robert Isom, the CEO of American Airlines. I want to brief you on a

00:04serious accident that occurred involving an American Eagle aircraft. The aircraft

00:10was operated by PSA Airlines, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of American

00:14Airlines. First and most importantly, I'd like to express our deep sorrow about

00:19these events. This is a difficult day for all of us at American Airlines and our

00:24efforts now are focused entirely on the needs of our passengers, crew members,

00:28partners, first responders, along with their families and loved ones. I know

00:34that there are many questions and at this early stage I'll not be able to

00:38answer all of them, but I do want to share the information I have at this

00:42time. American Eagle flight 5342, operated by PSA Airlines, a CRJ 700 aircraft

00:50traveling from Wichita, Kansas to Washington Reagan National Airport, has

00:55been involved in an accident near Washington DC. It appears to have

00:59collided with a military aircraft on approach. Flight 5342 was under the

01:05command of four crew members and carried 60 passengers for a total of 64 people

01:11on board. We are actively working with local, state, and federal authorities on

01:17emergency response efforts and the American Airlines care team has been

01:20activated to assist our passengers and their families. We're cooperating fully

01:27with the National Transportation Safety Board in its investigation and will

01:30continue to provide all the information we can. Our cooperation is without pause

01:35and we want to learn everything we can about today's events. That work will take

01:40time, but anything we can do now we're doing and right now that means focusing

01:45on taking care of all passengers and crew involved as well as their families.

01:50Members of our GO team will be on their way to Washington DC and I'll be heading

01:55there shortly as well. We know that many people will be concerned for the

02:00welfare of their loved ones and we've set up a special helpline friends and

02:03family can call at 1-800-679-8215. That's 1-800-679-8215.

02:13If you believe you've had friends or family on board American Eagle flight

02:185342. We understand and appreciate that people are eager for information. Please

02:24know that we'll continue to share accurate and timely information as soon

02:27as we can, but anything we must report must be accurate. We owe that to everyone

02:33involved. Our team of highly trained professionals will be working around the

02:37clock to support our passengers, crew, and their families however we can and we'll

02:42update you as soon as we can.