Washington: More than 60 people lost their lives after an American Airlines regional passenger jet collided midair with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday, plunging into the frigid waters of the Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport.
“At this point, we do not believe there were any survivors,” District of Columbia Fire Chief John Donnelly stated during a press conference on Thursday.
So far, 28 bodies have been recovered from the river in what is now considered the deadliest U.S. air disaster in over two decades. “We will work to find all the bodies and reunite them with their loved ones,” Donnelly affirmed.
Collision Details and Passenger Information
American Airlines confirmed that 60 passengers and four crew members were aboard the jet, while U.S. officials reported that three soldiers were on board the helicopter for a training mission. Following the incident, Army officials announced a temporary suspension of helicopter flights for the involved unit.
Among the passengers were ice skaters, coaches, and family members returning from events in Wichita, Kansas, including former world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.
“We have been told that there are no survivors. We mourn with all those who have been impacted,” Wichita Mayor Lily Wu said at a news conference.
The collision occurred as the passenger jet was making its approach to Reagan National. Radio communications suggest the helicopter crew was aware of the jet’s presence in the vicinity.
Investigations and Safety Concerns
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that both aircraft were following standard flight paths and there was no apparent breakdown in communication.
“Everything was standard in the lead-up to the crash,” Duffy said. “Do I think this was preventable? Absolutely.”
Air traffic in the U.S. capital is notoriously congested due to its proximity to three commercial airports and multiple military installations. Officials have voiced concerns over the crowded airspace and busy runways at Reagan National, where several near-miss incidents have been reported in recent years, including a near-collision in May 2024.
Daniel Driscoll, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Army Secretary, indicated that military training flights in the region might be reassessed. “This seems to be preventable,” he stated during a Senate confirmation hearing.
The helicopter crew, described as “fairly experienced,” was conducting an annual proficiency training exercise using night-vision goggles at the time of the crash, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a video statement.
Political Fallout
President Donald Trump addressed the crash, suggesting that lowered air traffic control standards under former President Joe Biden may have played a role. He also criticized diversity-focused hiring policies within the government.
“We have to have our smartest people,” Trump remarked. “They have to be naturally talented geniuses.”
Trump had previously raised questions about the actions of both the helicopter crew and air traffic controllers, echoing broader concerns over U.S. aviation safety amid recent near-miss incidents and reports of understaffed air traffic control operations.
Communications and Eyewitness Accounts
American Eagle Flight 5342, a Bombardier CRJ-700 operated by PSA Airlines, was commanded by a pilot with approximately six years of flying experience, American Airlines CEO Robert Isom confirmed.
Recordings from air traffic control captured an apparent last exchange with the helicopter, call sign PAT25.
“PAT25, do you have a CRJ in sight? PAT25, pass behind the CRJ,” an air traffic controller instructed at 8:47 p.m. (0147 GMT) on Wednesday, according to audio from liveatc.net.
Seconds later, another aircraft contacted air traffic control, saying, “Tower, did you see that?”—seemingly referencing the collision. Controllers then redirected incoming flights away from the runway.
“I just saw a fireball and then it was just gone. I haven’t seen anything since they hit the river,” another air traffic controller was recorded saying.
A webcam video of the crash captured the moment of impact and the explosion that followed, illuminating the night sky.
John Potter, head of the regional airport authority, announced that flights at Reagan National would resume at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time (1600 GMT).
Impact on the Skating Community
The skating community was devastated by the loss, with several young skaters and their families among the victims.
“Skating is a very close-knit and tight community,” said a tearful Doug Zeghibe of the Skating Club of Boston, where Shishkova and Naumov coached. Two teenage skaters affiliated with the club and their mothers were also on board, he confirmed. “We have lost family.”
Russia’s Mash news outlet published a list of 13 skaters, many of them children of Russian émigrés, believed to have been on the flight. The Kremlin extended condolences to the families of Russian citizens who perished in the crash.
This is not the first air disaster to impact the U.S. figure skating world. In February 1961, all 18 members of the U.S. national team, along with coaches and family members, died when a Belgian Sabena Airlines flight crashed outside Brussels, killing all 72 on board.
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Search and Recovery Efforts
Chief Donnelly described the search operation as “extremely rough” due to the cold and windy conditions, with over 300 responders at the scene.
CBS News reported that divers had recovered one of the two black boxes from the wreckage.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin confirmed that most bodies had been recovered. “Everything was routine up to the point of the accident,” he said. “Something went wrong.”
This tragedy marks the deadliest U.S. air disaster since November 2001, when an American Airlines flight crashed shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 260 people on board and five on the ground.
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Safety Concerns at Reagan National
Reagan National’s main runway is one of the busiest in the country, handling over 800 daily flights. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has investigated nine incidents at the airport since 2000, two of which were fatal.
Given the airport’s close proximity to major government sites—including the White House and the Pentagon—air traffic control operations in the region are subject to unique security challenges.
In 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River, killing 70 passengers and four crew members. Only five people survived.
U.S. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia has long raised concerns about the heavily trafficked airspace. “I’ve been praying that there wouldn’t be something like last night but kind of dreading in my heart that there would be,” he told reporters.
