King Charles releases heartfelt statement on Washington DC plane crash that killed 67 people…Read more 👇

King Charles has released a heartfelt statement on the Washington DC plane crash that killed 67 people.

The crash on Wednesday night left no survivors between the plane carrying 60 passengers and four crew members and a Black Hawk helicopter with three soldiers on board.

As of Friday afternoon, 41 bodies had been pulled from the Potomac River, including 28 that had been positively identified, Washington DC fire chief John Donnelly Sr said at a news conference.

In a statement released by Buckingham Palace on Saturday, the King said he is ‘profoundly shocked and saddened’.

Charles said: ‘Our hearts, and our special thoughts, are with the people of the United States and our deepest sympathy goes to the families and loved ones of all the victims.

‘I would also like to pay a particular tribute to the emergency responders who acted so quickly to this horrendous event.’

The two aircrafts collided when the plane was coming in for a landing at the airport next to Washington.

Investigators looking into the cause of the crash are reviewing the data from the helicopter’s black box along with information from two flight data recorders and a cockpit voice recorder from the plane.

Officials are examining the actions of the military pilot and air traffic control, after the helicopter apparently flew into the American Airlines plane’s path.

Wednesday’s crash was the deadliest in the US since November 12 2001, when an American Airlines flight collided into a residential area of Belle Harbour, New York, just after take-off from Kennedy Airport, killing all 260 people on board.

Earlier today, a chilling ‘conspiracy theory’ about the Black Hawk helicopter in DC was revealed to be true.

The US Army helicopter had been practicing for the event of an attack on the capital.

Officials have confirmed that the three soldiers, who all perished, had been rehearsing a plan that involves the evacuation of the White House when their Black Hawk collided with the passenger jet just before 9pm on Wednesday night.

Defense sources confirmed the nature of the training exercise to CBS News, after internet sleuths had floated a theory online that it was doing exactly what sources say.

Theorists had flooded social media with claims that the chopper was carrying out an emergency evacuation route for the president as part of a Continuity of Government contingency plan.

A Continuity of Government mission (COG) in the US refers to a set of policies and procedures designed to ensure that essential government functions continue during and after a catastrophic event, such as a nuclear attack, natural disaster, cyberattack, or terrorist incident.

One of the five key aspects of a COG mission is protecting key personnel and infrastructure.

Pilot in charge Chief Warrant Office 2 Andrew Eaves and crew chief Staff Sergeant Ryan O’Hara were named on Friday as those on board the helicopter.

The third person onboard, a female co-pilot, has remained anonymous as the Army has refused to identify them at the request of the family.

Earlier this week, a full list of the DC plane crash victims was revealed, including a TikTok skating star, a famed athlete couple, and all four flight crew members.

The deaths of figure skaters Franco Aparicio and Olivia Eve Ter, 12, were confirmed on Friday, bringing the total number of confirmed skaters up to 11.

Many of them, including Spencer Lane, 16, and Alydia and Everly Livingston, 11 and 14, were traveling with their parents, who also perished after an American Airlines flight and an Army Black Hawk collided in Washington DC on Wednesday evening.

Famed Russian skating couple Evgenia Shishkova, 52, and Vadim Naumov, 56, alongside other coaches also tragically lost their lives in the crash over the Potomac River.

The bodies of all four flight crew members – including one who was mere months away from a promotion and wedding – were also recovered from the debris on Thursday.

Bodies of two of the three soldiers who were flying in the helicopter have also been recovered.

Two of the Black Hawk Crew – Ryan O’Hara, 28, and Andrew Eaves, 39 – were identified. A third and final crew member’s body was also recovered, but the Army did not release their name per the family’s request.

American Airlines Flight 5342 had been approaching Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night when the crash occurred, officials said.

Sixty-four people – 60 passengers and four crew – were onboard and all died, officials said. At least 41 bodies have been recovered, DC Fire Chief John Donnelly said.

‘We will work to find all the bodies and reunite them with their loved ones,’ he said at a Thursday press conference.

US Figure Skating has confirmed that several skaters, coaches and their family members were on board the flight, and had been returning home from the National Development Camp, which is held in conjunction with the national championships.

‘We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available,’ the sport governing body said in a statement.

American figure skater John Maravilla, as reported by RIA Novosti, said: ‘I don’t want to name names, but there were around 14 figure skaters on the plane, not counting their parents and several coaches.’