Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) said Wednesday’s plane crash near Ronald Reagan National Airport that left dozens dead is an “unbearable sorrow.”
“When one person dies, it’s a tragedy, but when many, many, many people die, it’s an unbearable sorrow,” Marshall said during a press conference on Thursday alongside Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan) and law enforcement agencies. “It’s a heartbreak beyond measure.”
“And, I know Senator Moran and I are here just to … to say we care,” he added. “We wish that there was more we could do.”
Close to 60 people were believed to be on an American Airlines flight which collided midair with a military helicopter shortly prior to landing at Reagan Airport in Virginia. Officials have said there were no survivors.
According to American Airlines, the flight was en route from Wichita, Kan.
“I want the folks … back home [to just] know that we care, that we love them and that this is [the] time when — when we’ll have to join arms together and, and help each other out,” Marshall said.
President Trump has claimed that the crash “should have been prevented.”
“The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport,” the president posted on Truth Social. “The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time.”
“It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane,” he continued. “This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!!”
Other Kansas officials including Moran and Gov. Laura Kelly (D) have also weighed in on the crash.
“I am aware that a plane inbound from Wichita was involved in a crash at Reagan National Airport. I am actively in contact with authorities. My thoughts go out to those involved. I will share more information as it becomes available,” Kelly said in a late Wednesday post on the social platform X.
