Roscrea's Mark Kirwan is a former member of the Metropolitan Police Harbour Patrol in Washington.
The US President's confirmed there were no survivors following last night's air crash in Washington DC.
An American Airlines passenger plane and a military helicopter collided at around 9 pm local time.
64 people were on board the flight from Wichita Kansas, heading for Reagan Washington National Airport, while there were three soldiers on the helicopter.
President Donald Trump says the country is in mourning
Roscrea's Mark Kirwan is a former member of the Metropolitan Police Harbour Patrol in Washington and says the crash would have been visible to many, as it happened in a built-up area:
US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy agrees with President Trump's view it should have been prevented:
Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser says a huge search and rescue operation is underway in the freezing waters of the Potomac River: