DC plane crash updates: 55 victims recovered and positively identified

All 67 people on board the plane and the helicopter were killed.

Last Updated: February 2, 2025, 4:59 PM EST

An American Airlines regional jet went down in the Potomac River near Washington, D.C.'s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after colliding with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night, with no survivors.

Sixty-four people were on board the plane, which departed from Wichita, Kansas. Three soldiers were on the helicopter.

The collision happened around 9 p.m. when the PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet was on approach to the airport.

Map of the area around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and the layout of Runway 33, which the regional American Airlines jet was approaching at the time of the collision with the Army Black Hawk helicopter, according to officials.
ABC News, Google Earth, Flightradar24, ADS-B Exchange
Jan 29, 2025, 10:57 PM EST

64 total aboard plane

Multiple sources have confirmed to ABC News that 60 passengers and four crew were aboard the jet.

-ABC News' Katherine Faulders and Aaron Katersky

Jan 29, 2025, 10:52 PM EST

1st major commercial crash in US since 2009

This marks the first major commercial crash in the United States since the Colgan Air crash in Buffalo, New York, in 2009, when dozens of people were killed.

The last fatality on a plane was when a woman was partially sucked out of a window during a Southwest flight in 2018.

-ABC News' Sam Sweeney

Jan 29, 2025, 10:52 PM EST

Black Hawk was based at Fort Belvoir, Virginia: Army

The Black Hawk helicopter involved in the crash was based at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, according to an Army official.

"We are working with local officials and will provide additional information once it becomes available," the official said.

-ABC News' Luis Martinez

Jan 29, 2025, 10:46 PM EST

Frigid conditions in Potomac

A helicopter assists with search and rescue operations over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington Airport, Jan. 30, 2025 in Arlington, Va.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The water temperature in the Potomac River is approximately 36 degrees amid the search and rescue effort.

The air temperature at the time of the crash was 50 degrees with winds gusting 25 to 30 mph.

The water temperature in the Potomac River is approximately 36 degrees amid the search and rescue effort. Multiple sources have confirmed to ABC News that 60 passengers and four crew were aboard.
1:57
Search and rescue underway following plane crashing into the Potomac River near DCThe water temperature in the Potomac River is approximately 36 degrees amid the search and rescue effort. Multiple sources have confirmed to ABC News that 60 passengers and four crew were aboard.
ABCNews.com

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