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An American Airlines flight and a military helicopter collided and crashed into the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport Wednesday evening, leaving no survivors, officials believe. At least 30 bodies were pulled from the Potomac River overnight, two sources told News4.
“At this point, we don’t believe there are survivors from this accident," D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly said Thursday morning.
American Airlines Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, had 60 passengers and four crewmembers aboard as it approached Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, just over the river from Washington, D.C. The three crewmembers on the helicopter were from Fort Belvoir, a U.S. Army base in Virginia, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
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Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter if it had the arriving plane in sight: “PAT25, do you have the CRJ in sight?” in reference to the passenger aircraft.
The controller made another radio call to PAT25 moments later: “PAT25, pass behind the CRJ.”
The two aircraft collided seconds later. Video from the web camera network EarthCam captured the moment of the collision, showing a big flash upon impact.
The audio from flight tracking sites didn't record any response from the helicopter to the warnings from air traffic control.
The plane’s radio transponder stopped transmitting about 2,400 feet (730 meters) short of the runway, roughly over the middle of the river.
An FAA statement Wednesday night said: "A PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet collided in midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on approach to Runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 p.m. local [Eastern] time. PSA was operating Flight 5342 as American Airlines. It departed from Wichita, Kansas."
A frantic search to find crash victims in the river was conducted for hours before officials said efforts were transitioning from rescue efforts to a recovery operation. An earlier version of this story reported that four people had been rescued alive from the water. However, officials believe there are no survivors.
The water temperature was about 35° at the time of the crash, Storm Team4’s Doug Kammerer said. At that temperature, someone has 15 to 20 minutes before suffering from hypothermia, he said.
![Emergency vehicles and rescue crews gather along the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport after an air crash near Washington, DC, on January 29, 2025. A regional jet from Kansas crashed into Washington's Potomac River after colliding mid-air with a military helicopter near Reagan National Airport, officials said Wednesday, prompting a major emergency response and grounding all flights. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)](https://media.nbcwashington.com/2025/01/Potomac-crash-GettyImages-2196052139.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&resize=218%2C123)
What do we know about the death toll?
Officials said Thursday morning that they don't believe there were any survivors.
Robert Isom, CEO of American Airlines, said they are grieving the loss of two flight attendants and two pilots. The captain worked for the American Eagle flight for six years, and the copilot worked for the airline for two years, according to American Airlines.
U.S. Figure Skating confirmed several of its members were on the AA flight. The National Development Camp and the U.S. Figure Skating Championships were held in Wichita just days ago.
Hegseth said the helicopter crew involved in the crash was "fairly experienced" and was doing an "annual proficiency training flight" at the time of the collision. He said the three crewmembers were from the Bravo Company 12th Aviation Battalion at Fort Belvoir, an Army base in Virginia about 14 miles from the airport.
Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas said, “When one person dies, it’s a tragedy, but when many, many, many people die, it’s an unbearable sorrow.”
The medical examiner's office is preparing for the largest recovery of bodies they have handled in decades, a source told News4.
Trump: 'A dark and excruciating night in our nation’s capital'
President Donald Trump said he had been briefed on the "terrible accident" at Reagan National Airport.
In a statement late Wednesday, Trump thanked first responders for their “incredible work,” noting that he was “monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise.”
“May God Bless their souls,” he added.
Trump spoke from the White House late Thursday morning following a moment of silence.
“This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation’s capital and in our nation’s history, and a tragedy of terrible proportions,” Trump said.
“As one nation, we grieve every precious soul,” he said, after praising first responders for doing a “phenomenal job.”
In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday night, Trump questioned the tactics of the military helicopter and the air traffic controllers — both agencies that report to him as the president.
Writing that the “airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach for an extended period of time” on a “CLEAR NIGHT,” Trump questioned, “why didn’t the helicopter go up or down or turn,” and “why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane.”
“What a terrible night this has been. God Bless you all!” he added in a subsequent post.
Photos: Massive response to crash of commercial jet, helicopter into Potomac
First responders from across D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia join efforts
A massive emergency response unfolded in the minutes after the crash, with fireboats in the water and first responders on both sides of the river. The Metropolitan Police Department also responded.
There were at least 300 responders working on the rescue operation at one point.
D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said at the early Thursday news conference that conditions are “extremely rough for responders,” with cold weather and intense wind.
The Potomac River is about 8 feet deep where the aircraft crashed.
“The water is dark. It is murky," Connelly said.
Fire departments from all around the region staged at Gravelly Point north of Reagan National. News4 video showed a sea of fire trucks, ambulances and police cars on the banks of the Potomac.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she would deploy all available resources from the U.S. Coast Guard for search and rescue efforts.
“We are actively monitoring the situation & stand ready to support local responders,” Noem said in a post on X.
All takeoffs and landings were stopped at Reagan National late Wednesday into Thursday morning. At least 19 flights were diverted to nearby Dulles International Airport.
Runways at Reagan National reopened at 11 a.m. Thursday, according to the FAA. The airport reported a Southwest Airlines flight departed one minute later.
![Here's how the wind might have affected the Potomac River aircraft crash](https://media.nbcwashington.com/2025/01/37533653299-1080pnbcstations.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&resize=850%2C478)
The FAA said it and the NTSB will investigate, with the NTSB leading the investigation.
No black boxes have been recovered yet from the scene of the collision, a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) source told NBC News. Large commercial aircraft and some smaller commercial, corporate and private aircraft are required by the FAA to be equipped with two "black boxes" that record information about a flight, according to the NTSB.
A senior FBI official said Washington Field Office personnel were standing by to assist but there was nothing to indicate anything criminal or terrorist related was involved in the crash.
CORRECTION (Jan. 30, 2024): An earlier version of this story reported that four people had been rescued alive from the water. However, officials believe there are no survivors.
CORRECTION (Jan. 30, 2024): An earlier version of this story said the airport will reopen at 11 a.m. Friday. It is actually scheduled to reopen at 11 a.m. Thursday.
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