Disturbing new videos give the clearest view yet of the moment the American Airlines passenger plane and Army helicopter exploded into pieces — sending huge chunks of fiery debris crashing into the frigid water below.
The cellphone footage, obtained by CNN, provides the clearest angle so far of Wednesday’s tragic midair collision in Washington, DC, that killed 67 people in the country’s deadliest aviation disaster in almost a quarter century.
The two clips captured the Black Hawk helicopter’s red tail lights flashing as it quickly flew directly toward the passenger jet approaching the runway at Ronald Reagan National Airport at about 9 p.m.
The collision sparked a huge fireball, with large sections of the plane plunging into the icy Potomac River, where it was later found in three pieces.
Remnants of the helicopter, which was carrying three soldiers, also spiraled downwards with its flashing lights still visible, the chilling footage shows.
The footage emerged as investigators and crews prepared to push forward on Friday with efforts to recover the bodies of the remaining victims from the water.
Fresh from recovering the black boxes from the American Airlines plane, divers were also aiming to salvage the remnants of both aircraft, officials said.
Authorities have yet to determine a reason for the collision.
The American Airlines jet was carrying 60 passengers and four crew when it went down. Three soldiers were aboard the helicopter. All are assumed dead.
The victims of the crash included teen figure skaters returning from a national meet with their mothers and coaches, an Ohio college student coming from her grandfather’s funeral, two Chinese nationals and a group of hunters headed back from a guided trip in Kansas.
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