JAKARTA - American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL) shares fell 2.48% on Thursday (30/1) trading after one of its fleets had an accident with a Black Hawk military helicopter belonging to the United States (US) Military.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that the American Airlines aircraft involved in the accident was a Bombardier CRJ-700, which collided with a US military Black Hawk helicopter, a Sikorsky H-60, while approaching runway 33 at Ronald Reagan Airport.

The incident occurred at around 9pm local time on Wednesday (29/1) evening.

American Airlines Flight 5342 took off from Wichita, Kansas, carrying 64 passengers and crew. Meanwhile, a Black Hawk helicopter belonging to the 12th Aviation Battalion of Fort Belvoir, Virginia, was on a training mission with three crews on board.

A CCTV camera at the Kennedy Centre managed to record the seconds of the collision. Video verified by CBS News shows the impact occurred at 8.47pm local time. Authorities estimate the chances of survivors are very small.

The aircraft and Black Hawk crashed into the Potomac River at near-freezing temperatures, complicating evacuation efforts. To date, rescue teams have recovered 18 bodies out of a total of 67 victims. The wreckage of the aircraft appears destroyed and floating on the surface of the river, while the search for victims continues.

Currently, a joint investigation is underway to uncover the cause of this tragic accident. Ronald Reagan Airport operations were temporarily suspended before reopening.

According to idnfinancials.com's monitoring, the decline in share price has caused AAL's market capitalisation to drop to US$11.11 billion. This decline also made AAL's share price at its lowest position since the beginning of the year. (DK/KR/LM)