Washington DC plane crash: What we know so far about the mid-air collision near Reagan Airport
There are likely no survivors after an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter crashed midair near Washington, D.C, Wednesday evening, officials have said.
Flight 5342 from Kansas was on the final approach to Ronald Reagan National Airport when it collided with the Black Hawk helicopter before exploding a huge fireball. There were 67 people aboard the two flights when they crashed.
Both aircraft plunged into the icy Potomac River sparking a massive search-and-rescue operation amid strong winds and chilly 42-degree water.
Speaking at a White House press briefing on Thursday, President Donald Trump confirmed that there were “no survivors” on board both aircraft as the operation went from a rescue to a recovery. His press conference then went off the rails as he appeared to blame DEI for the crash.
So far, at least 28 bodies of 67 have been recovered from the river, District of Columbia Fire Chief John Donnelly said Thursday. A group of figure skaters and coaches competing in the National Figure Skating championships were on board.
The crew operating the helicopter was “fairly experienced,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
Officials have tried to assure commuters that the U.S. skies are safe.
“Do I think this was preventable? Absolutely,” Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said, adding that passengers should be “assured” that flying is safe.
Follow the latest updates on the plane crash in our live blog
Here is everything we know about the first commercial airline crash in the U.S. since 2009:
An American Airlines plane from Kansas collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport at 8:47 p.m. Wednesday.
Horrified eyewitnesses described an explosion lighting up the night sky. “It looked to me like a giant Roman candle, sparks shooting from the head of the plane down to the tail. I saw that for about two seconds,” bystander Ari Schulman told NBC Washington.
Video from an observation camera at the nearby Kennedy Center shows the collision.
Only one controller, rather than the usual two, was handling the local plane and helicopter traffic on Wednesday night. This is deemed “not normal” but considered adequate for lower volumes of air traffic, a person briefed on the matter told Reuters.
