At least 18 bodies have been pulled out of Potomac River and divers are exploring three debris fields after an American Airlines passenger jet carrying 64 people collided midair with a military helicopter while approaching Reagan National Airport in Washington before 9 p.m. on Wednesday night.
Law enforcement sources have confirmed several fatalities, and no survivors have been rescued so far. The airline also confirmed that Flight 5342, traveling from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington, had 60 passengers and four crew members on board when the crash occurred. Reports indicate that the plane broke apart, with wreckage resting in approximately seven feet of water, while the helicopter is overturned and unstable.
Grim Discovery
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Photos from the scene show emergency crews on boats surrounding what appears to be a section of the fuselage and a wing protruding from the river. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the aircraft, a Bombardier CRJ700, collided with a Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter while descending toward Runway 33.
Defense officials confirmed that the Black Hawk was an Army helicopter carrying three soldiers on a training mission.
Audio recordings from the air traffic control tower captured a controller asking the helicopter, “PAT25, do you have the CRJ in sight?” referring to the passenger jet.
Moments after the apparent collision, another pilot can be heard asking, “Tower, did you see that?” The control tower immediately began redirecting other flights away from Reagan National Airport.
In a statement, DC Police said that they received multiple calls at 8:53 p.m. regarding an aircraft crash over the Potomac River.
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DC Fire and EMS, the Metropolitan Police Department, and several partner agencies are actively conducting a search and rescue operation in the river. As of now, there is no confirmed information on casualties.
The airport said in a post to X: “All takeoffs and landings have been halted at DCA. Emergency personnel are responding to an aircraft incident on the airfield. The terminal remains open. Will update.”
Harrowing Scenes
Webcam footage from the Kennedy Center captured what appears to be an explosion in mid-air. Emergency dispatch reports indicated that a “large amount of debris” was spotted in the water, and a “casualty collection point” was set up near the Metropolitan Police Department’s hangar, where its helicopter is stationed.
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Fireboats responded to the scene on the Potomac River in Arlington, according to a post by the DC Fire and EMS Department on X shortly after 9 p.m.
The Washington DC Police Department also confirmed its response, saying on X that multiple agencies were assisting at the scene.
Kansas Republican Senator Roger Marshall reported that the plane was carrying around 60 passengers.
“Tonight, we received devastating news of what can only be described as nothing short of a nightmare,” he tweeted.
“I have been in contact with local and national authorities asking for answers and will continue to demand more information on how this unfolded.”
Reagan National Airport announced on X that all takeoffs and landings have been suspended.
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The flight route from Wichita was launched on January 8, 2024, after Kansas Republican Senator Jerry Moran secured the first direct connection between central Kansas and Washington, D.C.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will conduct an investigation to determine the cause of the crash.
This comes just weeks after the 43rd anniversary of the Air Florida disaster, in which a flight crashed into the Potomac River due to severe weather, resulting in 78 fatalities on January 13, 1982.
