Scores of people are feared dead after a passenger jet operated by American Airlines and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided and crashed into the frigid Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night, according to officials.
Officials have not yet provided a death toll from the collision. However, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, where the flight originated, suggested that everyone on board might have died. He stated at a news conference at Reagan airport early Thursday, “it’s really hard when you lose probably over 60 Kansans simultaneously.”
He added, “When one person dies, it’s a tragedy, but when many, many, many people die, it’s an unbearable sorrow. It’s a heartbreak beyond measure.”
Jack Potter, the president and CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, emphasized during the same news conference that first responders were in “rescue mode.”
CBS News reported that at least 18 bodies had been recovered, citing a police official. Two sources informed Reuters that multiple bodies had been pulled from the water.
American Airlines confirmed that 64 people were aboard the jet, which included 60 passengers and four crew members. A U.S. official stated that three soldiers were on board the helicopter, which was conducting a training flight.
The midair collision occurred while the passenger jet was approaching to land at Reagan, having originated from Wichita, Kansas. Radio communications between the air traffic control tower and the Black Hawk indicated that the helicopter crew was aware of the plane’s proximity.
The Pentagon announced it would launch an immediate investigation into the incident. President Donald Trump appeared to blame the helicopter crew and air traffic controllers in a post on Truth Social.
He wrote, “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? This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!”
Air traffic control recordings captured the final communications with the helicopter, call sign PAT25, before the collision with the plane, described as CRJ. An air traffic controller said at 8:47 p.m. (0147 GMT), “PAT25, do you have a CRJ in sight? PAT25, pass behind the CRJ.”
Seconds later, another aircraft contacted air traffic control, asking, “Tower, did you see that?” apparently referring to the crash. The air traffic controller then redirected planes heading to runway 33 to go around.
Video footage from a webcam at the nearby Kennedy Center captured the moment of impact, showing a massive explosion lighting up the night sky.
Shortly after the collision, an air traffic controller was heard saying over the radio, “I just saw a fireball and then it was just gone. I haven’t seen anything since they hit the river.”
Emergency personnel worked near the crash site after American Eagle flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter while approaching Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed into the Potomac River outside Washington on January 30, 2025.
SEARCH AND RECOVERY OPERATIONS
Relatives gathered at the airport reported receiving little to no information from officials about the incident.
One woman expressed distress to an airport official, saying, “I don’t know if she got on there or not,” in reference to a passenger on the crashed jet, before collapsing in tears.
Washington, DC, fire chief John Donnelly stated at the news conference that at least 300 first responders were continuing to work on the “highly complex” rescue operation.
He noted, “Conditions out there are extremely rough for the responders. It’s cold. They’re dealing with windy conditions.”
When reporters asked if there were any survivors, he replied, “we don’t know yet.”
Around 1:30 a.m. ET, a Reuters reporter near the airport observed a helicopter circling in the sky and shining a spotlight into the water. A rescue team boat floated by, with those aboard peering into the water with flashlights.
Earlier, dozens of police, ambulance, and rescue units staged along the river and raced to positions along the tarmac of Reagan airport. Live TV images showed several boats in the water with flashing blue and red lights.
Airports authority CEO Potter announced that the airport would remain closed until at least 11 a.m. on Thursday.
In 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River, killing 70 passengers and four crew members. Only four passengers and one crew member survived that incident.
The last major deadly crash involving a commercial airliner in the U.S. occurred in 2009, when a Colgan Air flight crashed in New York state, resulting in the deaths of all 49 people aboard, along with one person on the ground.
However, a series of near-miss incidents in recent years have raised serious safety concerns.
PSA operated Flight 5342 for American Airlines, according to the FAA.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom stated in a video statement, “We’re cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board in its investigation and will continue to provide all the information we can.”
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