Emergency personnel work at the site of the crash after a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Eagle flight 5342 approaching Reagan Washington National Airport collided and crashed in the Potomac River, outside Washington, U.S., January 30, 2025.
Reuters
Officials believe that no one survived the midair collision Wednesday night of a commercial jet carrying 64 people and an Army helicopter carrying three U.S. service members near Washington, D.C.
Both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport outside Washington, and officials said at a news conference Thursday morning that they had recovered 28 bodies from the frigid, icy water. Emergency responders on Thursday will switch from a rescue to a recovery operation, said John Donnelly, Washington’s fire chief.
Rescuers were searching the frigid Potomac River early Thursday after a commercial jet carrying 64 people collided in midair with a U.S. Army helicopter and crashed into the water near Reagan National Airport outside Washington, D.C.
Some of those aboard the plane were figure skaters flying from Wichita, Kansas, which had hosted the national figure skating championships this month. Russian figure skaters were also among the passengers, the Kremlin said.
“This morning, we all share in a profound sense of grief,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said.
The night was clear and both the plane and the helicopter were on standard flight patterns, according to Sean Duffy, the secretary of transportation. An Army official said the helicopter, a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, was flying with three crew members.
Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, said on social media that the Army and the Department of Defense would investigate the crash. He posted an email from Heather Chairez, a spokesperson for the U.S. military’s Joint Task Force-National Capital Region, stating that the helicopter, operating out of Davison Army Airfield in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, had been on a training flight.
Here’s what else to know:
The collision: American Airlines said in a statement that 60 passengers and four crew members had been onboard Flight 5342, which had departed from Wichita at 6:20 p.m. Eastern time. It collided in midair with the helicopter around 9 p.m. while on approach to Runway 33 at Reagan National, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The aircraft: The plane was a Bombardier CRJ700. According to FAA records, it was built about 20 years ago. The helicopter was a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, the Army said in a statement. It was not clear whether it was departing from or returning to Fort Belvoir.
New administration: The crash confronts the new Trump administration with one of its first major disasters. It happened just a day after the new transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, was sworn in. It is also Hegseth’s first week as defense secretary. Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, said her department was deploying Coast Guard resources for search and rescue efforts.
Trump comments: Even as much about the crash remained unclear early Thursday, President Donald Trump speculated on the cause and began to assign blame. In a social media post just after midnight, he called it “a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented.” He said earlier that he had been “fully briefed” on the crash.