Around 3 p.m. it turned out that the air traffic control system that skeyes uses to operate Belgian airspace was “not functioning properly,” says skeyes spokesman Kurt Verwilligen.
All aircraft flying at that time in the airspace controlled by skeyes (up to approximately 7,500 meters altitude) were diverted to surrounding countries.
“This was done safely using a backup system,” the spokesperson added. The cause of the problem is not yet known. Airplanes cannot land or depart at the airports of Zaventem, Antwerp, Ostend, Charleroi and Liège.
JUST IN: Belgium closes airspace after "complete computer failure" at air traffic control pic.twitter.com/lNIKOrV6a8
A multi-agency search and rescue operation is underway in Washington’s Potomac River following a midair collision
A civilian airliner carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided midair with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington, DC, on Wednesday night.
Flight 5342, operated by PSA – a subsidiary of American Airlines – was on its final approach to Runway 33 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport at around 9 pm local time, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), when it struck the helicopter at low altitude.
The US Army Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk was carrying a crew of three and no VIPs, according to defense department officials. The exact number of fatalities remains unclear as emergency personnel from multiple agencies continue the search for possible survivors.
The US Federal Aviation Authority announced that Reagan Washington National Airport, built on the river Potomac to the south of Washington DC, was temporarily shut down following the incident. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will lead the investigation into the crash.
PHOTO: Wreckage after crash between American Airlines Flight 5342 and US military helicopter pic.twitter.com/vOUSNgDwxS
Emergency crews have recovered over 30 bodies from the Potomac River after an American Airlines jet with 64 persons aboard and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter with three soldiers collided mid-air near Reagan National Airport, NBC4 reports.
Both aircraft crashed into the frigid river, where ongoing search efforts are complicated by near-freezing water temperatures, according to the US Geological Survey.
NEW – Plane carrying 64 collides with helicopter, crashes in Washingtonhttps://t.co/gd6E6H97gZ
