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, 9:21 AM EST

Soldiers on helicopter had night vision goggles: Hegseth

The Army helicopter, which had three soldiers on board, was on an "annual proficiency training flight" at the time of the crash, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said in a video message.

"It was a fairly experienced crew that was doing a required annual night evaluation," Hegseth said. "They did have night vision goggles."

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth addresses the recent crash at Reagan International Airport, Jan. 30, 2025.
Department of Defense via Twitter

The crash happened on a clear night, officials said.

Officials are working to determine if the helicopter was "in the corridor and at the right altitude" at the time of the crash, Hegseth said.

"It's a tragedy," Hegseth said.

Jan 30, 2025, 9:07 AM EST

Debris found in DC, Maryland and Virginia

Debris from the crash has been found in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., sources told ABC News.

Piers and shoreline parks in the area -- including Daingerfield Island, Gravelly Point, Hains Point and the National Harbor -- have been closed to assist with recovery efforts.

-ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson

Jan 30, 2025, 8:56 AM EST

Black boxes not recovered

The black boxes from the American Airlines plane have not been recovered, a source with direct knowledge told ABC News.

PHOTO: Part of the wreckage is seen as rescue crews search the waters of the Potomac River after a passenger plane on approach to Reagan National Airport crashed into the river after colliding with a US Army helicopter, January 30, 2025.
Part of the wreckage is seen as rescue crews search the waters of the Potomac River after a passenger plane on approach to Reagan National Airport crashed into the river after colliding with a US Army helicopter, near Washington, DC, on January 30, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Jan 30, 2025, 8:24 AM EST

'Absolutely' preventable, transportation secretary says

President Donald Trump posted on social media overnight, "This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented."

Asked about Trump’s comments, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters Thursday, "To back up with the president said, what I've seen so far -- do I think this was preventable? Absolutely."

Secretary of transportation Sean Duffy speaks at a media briefing at Reagan National Airport after a plane crashed into the Potomac River outside Washington, DC, January 30, 2025.
Ting Shen/AFP via Getty Images

Duffy said that "everything was standard in the lead up to the crash."

"It is not standard to have aircraft collide. Want to be clear on that, but prior to the collision, the flight paths that were being flown from the military and from American that was not unusual for what happens in the D.C. airspace," Duffy added.

Duffy said that there was no breakdown of communication.

"I don't want to say too much on the communication between the helicopter and the tower and the airline and the tower, but I will say this: There was communication," Duffy said. "It was, I would say, standard communication, so there was not a breakdown" in communication.

"The helicopter was aware that there was a plane in the area," he said.

Rescue boats search the waters of the Potomac River after a plane on approach to Reagan National Airport crashed into the river outside Washington, DC, January 30, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Officials did not give any information on the flight history and experience of pilots on both aircraft, but did say that the captain had over six years of experience with the airline and the first officer had almost two years.

Runway operations at the airport are expected to resume at 11 a.m.

-ABC News' Ayesha Ali

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