Washington DC: A regional American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members has crashed into the Potomac River after a midair collision with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport. The accident has triggered a large-scale search-and-rescue operation.
Emergency responders, including helicopters from law enforcement agencies, are actively searching for survivors. Multiple bodies have been recovered from the river, and US Senator Ted Cruz confirmed fatalities without providing specific numbers.
The Army UH-60 helicopter, part of Bravo Company, 12th Aviation Battalion from Fort Belvoir, was on a training flight when the crash occurred. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the collision took place around 9 PM in one of the world’s most closely monitored airspaces, just three miles from the White House.
American Airlines flight 5342, a Bombardier CRJ-701 jet arriving from Wichita, Kansas, was descending at about 400 feet and travelling at 140 mph when it lost altitude over the Potomac. Air traffic controllers had cleared the jet to land on runway 33, with flight data showing adjustments to its approach moments before impact.
Less than 30 seconds before the crash, a controller instructed the helicopter crew that, “PAT 25, pass behind the CRJ.” Seconds later, the two aircraft collided, sending a fireball into the night sky, as captured by an observation camera at the Kennedy Center. The jet’s radio transponder stopped transmitting about 2,400 feet short of the runway.
US President Donald Trump stated that, “fully briefed on this terrible accident,” offered condolences, adding in a social media post that the crash “should have been prevented.”
For more information, visit https://t.co/ECDOdj1kdr. pic.twitter.com/Z5vWq4vUJ2
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) January 30, 2025
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed that “every available” Coast Guard resource had been deployed to assist in rescue efforts. Meanwhile, American Airlines CEO Robert Isom released a statement expressing concern for those on board and providing a toll-free number for families seeking information.
The crash is an immediate test for two recently appointed officials—Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy—both of whom stated they were closely monitoring the situation.
Aviation history and impact
Reagan National Airport, located along the Potomac River, has now witnessed one of the deadliest aviation incidents in recent history. The tragedy echoes the 1982 Air Florida crash that killed 78 people in the same river.
The last fatal US commercial airline crash occurred in 2009 near Buffalo, New York, when a Bombardier DHC-8 crashed due to pilot error, killing all 50 people on board. Authorities are now focused on investigating the cause of this latest disaster, analysing flight data, air traffic communications, and possible mechanical failures.
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