An American Airlines plane carrying at least three members of the United States Congress has been struck on the taxiway by the wingtip of another American Airlines jet at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says.

American Airlines Flight 5490, a Bombardier CRJ 900 headed to Charleston, South Carolina, struck American Flight 4522, an Embraer E175 headed to New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport, about 12:45pm (16:45 GMT) on Thursday, the FAA said. No injuries were reported.

Representative Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat, said on social media that he was on the flight to New York when the incident occurred while waiting to take off on the runway.

The latest mishap at Reagan National will intensify scrutiny over how air traffic is handled at the airport just outside Washington, DC, which has the single busiest US runway.

The FAA will investigate. American Airlines said both aircraft taxied to the terminal and were taken out of service to be inspected by maintenance teams. The damage was limited to a winglet on each aircraft.

(Aljazeera)

WEATHER FORECAST FOR 11 APRIL 2025 

Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 11 April 2025 by the Department of Meteorology 

Several spells of showers may occur in Anuradhapura, Matale and Mannar districts while showers or thundershowers will occur at times in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts.

Showers or thundershowers may occur at several places in Uva province and in Ampara, Batticaloa and Polonnaruwa districts during the afternoon or night.

Fairly heavy rainfall of above 50 mm are likely at some places in Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in Galle and Matara districts.

Fairly strong winds of (30-40) kmph can be expected at times over the  Western slopes of the central hills and in Northern, North-central and North-western provinces and in Trincomalee and Hambantota districts.

The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.

Six people, including three children, were killed after a helicopter carrying a family of Spanish tourists crashed into the Hudson River in New York on Thursday, authorities said.

Three children and three adults were onboard the helicopter at the time of the crash. Five of the individuals were from Spain and the sixth person was the pilot, New York City Mayor Eric Adams told reporters.

“Our hearts go out to the families,” he said.

New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the identities of the victims would not be released until the families were notified. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Video footage posted to social media appears to show the helicopter falling out of the sky upside down and splashing down in the Hudson River.

Officials said the helicopter lost control soon after turning at the George Washington Bridge to move along the New Jersey shoreline.

The first calls of the crash came around 15:17 EDT (20:17 GMT) and rescue boats were launched immediately, New York’s Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker said.

“Swimmers were in the water shortly after the call,” he said.

Once on the scene, rescuers started searching the water for victims or survivors and initiated “immediate life-saving measures” but the efforts were unsuccessful.

Four victims were pronounced dead on scene, the other two victims were pronounced dead at an area hospital, officials said.

The part of the river where the helicopter crashed is near the West Side of Manhattan. The surrounding area is a neighbourhood called the West Village, a trendy area known for its shops and dining, also near the main campus of New York University.

(BBC)