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, 9:59 PM GMT

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 31, 2025, 8:39 PM GMT

Helicopter restrictions in place at Reagan

The Federal Aviation Administration is not giving permission for low-altitude helicopter routes around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the FAA told ABC News.

Helicopters can still fly into and out of the airport, but are restricted from flying specific river routes.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the "restrictions will remain in place until the NTSB completes its preliminary investigation" of the crash, "at which point it will be reviewed based on NTSB’s report."

Roberto Marquez from Dallas, Texas, sets up a makeshift memorial for the victims of the deadly mid air collision near Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, Jan. 31, 2025.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

The restricted area includes: over the top of Reagan; Haines Point to Wilson Bridge; and Memorial Bridge to South Capitol Street Bridge, excluding the Tidal Basin.

The restriction does not include "helicopters entering this airspace for lifesaving medical support, active law enforcement, active air defense, or presidential transport helicopter missions that must operate in this restricted area," the department added.

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom thanked the Trump administration for its "quick and decisive action" to restrict helicopter activity around the airport.

"We are all hurting as we continue to grieve the loss of our passengers and team members," Isom said in a statement. "In the days ahead, we will work tirelessly with the Administration and leaders in Congress to make our aviation system even safer, including by increasing investments in infrastructure, technology and personnel."

-ABC News’ Sam Sweeney

Jan 31, 2025, 8:02 PM GMT

41 sets of remains have been recovered

Forty-one sets of remains have been recovered and 28 of those victims have been positively identified, Washington, D.C., Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly Sr. said at a news conference Friday.

Next of kin notifications had been made to 18 families as of 6 a.m. Friday, he said.

Search efforts are seen around a wreckage site of a deadly midair collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter, in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Jan. 31, 2025, in Arlington, Va.
Alex Brandon/AP

All 67 people on board the plane and the helicopter were killed in the Wednesday night crash.

Donnelly said crews expect to recover all of the bodies.

It appears crews will need to remove the plane fuselage from the river to recover the remaining victims, he said.

Salvage work on removing aircraft from the water will start as early as Saturday, he said.

Fire and EMS has received 911 calls from people who spotted debris in the water; body parts have not been recovered from those 911 calls, he added.

PHOTO: This image provided by Dean Naujoks shows debris recovered from the Potomac River south of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Alexandria, Va., Jan. 30, 2025.
This image provided by Dean Naujoks shows debris floating in Potomac River south of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Alexandria, Va., Jan. 30, 2025.
Dean Naujoks/AP

-ABC News' Jeff Cook

Jan 31, 2025, 7:18 PM GMT

Reagan fully staffed with air traffic controllers

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport has 25 Certified Professional Controllers as well as three Certified Professional Controllers in Training who have been fully certified at other facilities. The tower is authorized to have 28 controllers.

Jan 31, 2025, 6:58 PM GMT

Trump intent on increasing staffing at air safety agencies

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump is "intent on ensuring that we are increasing staffing" at air safety agencies, despite the administration trying to cut the federal workforce and offering buyouts to workers.

"That's why he signed a very strong executive order on his second day in office, immediately terminating DEI hiring practices at the FAA," Leavitt said. "He also, following the tragic crash, as you all know, in the Oval Office yesterday signed a memorandum, directing an immediate assessment of the FAA to ensure the federal government is maintaining the highest personnel and aviation safety standards."

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