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 30, 2025, 2:45 AM EST

19 aircraft diverted from Reagan National Airport after crash

Some 19 aircraft that were in the air and due to land at Reagan National Airport had to be diverted after the mid-air collision of a regional American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter, according to an airports official

The diverted flights landed at Dulles International Airport in Virginia, said Jack Potter, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, who spoke at an early Thursday morning press briefing.

Reagan National will be closed until at least 11 a.m. Thursday, but the situation is fluid, Potter said

Jan 30, 2025, 2:31 AM EST

Hegseth says Army, Pentagon have launched investigation

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said an immediate investigation has been launched after the mid-air collision of an American Airlines jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport on Wednesday.

"Absolutely tragic," Hegseth posted on X. "Search and rescue efforts still ongoing. Prayers for all impacted souls, and their families."

Jan 30, 2025, 2:14 AM EST

Trump weighs in on crash

President Donald Trump released a statement on social media about the jet-helicopter crash over the Potomac River seeming to question the actions of the helicopter pilots and Air Traffic Control.

"It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn," Trump posted on his platform Truth Social. "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!!!"

According to radio traffic, Air Traffic Control at the airport advised the helicopter of the plane’s approach and asked the helicopter pilots to confirm they had the plane in sight, which is standard procedure.

Investigators will work to understand what went wrong.

Jan 30, 2025, 2:04 AM EST

Kansas senator describes 'unbearable sorrow'

In somber remarks at a news conference early Thursday morning, Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall suggested he feared the passengers and crew aboard a regional American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter that collided were lost.

"When one person dies, it's a tragedy," Marshall said. "But when many, many, many people die, it's an unbearable sorrow … It's really hard when you lose, you know, probably over 60 Kansans, simultaneously."

Speaking of the pilots, flight attendants and military personnel, Marshall added, "All those lives are so valuable, and it is such a tragedy that we lost them."

Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas speaks at a media briefing at Reagan National Airport after a plane crashed into the Potomac River outside Washington, Jan. 30, 2025.
Ting Shen/AFP via Getty Images

Officials have not publicly confirmed any fatalities. There were 64 people aboard the jet and three aboard the helicopter.

Fellow Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran said he knows the flight pattern of Flight 5342 well.

I've flown it many times myself," Moran said, adding that he lobbied American Airlines to add direct, nonstop flight service from Wichita to Reagan National.

Related Topics