2025 Potomac River mid-air collision
 | This article is about a current event. |
EarthCam footage of the collision and crash, taken from the Kennedy Center, looking southeast | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | January 29, 2025 |
| Summary | Mid-air collision, under investigation |
| Site | Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington, D.C., United States 38°50′43.220″N 77°1′27.073″W / 38.84533889°N 77.02418694°W |
| Total fatalities | 67 |
| Total injuries | 0 |
| Total survivors | 0 |
| First aircraft | |
 The aircraft involved in the accident, photographed in 2022 | |
| Type | Bombardier CRJ701ER |
| Operator | PSA Airlines dba American Eagle |
| IATA flight No. | AA5342 |
| ICAO flight No. | JIA5342 |
| Call sign | BLUE STREAK 5342 |
| Registration | N709PS |
| Flight origin | Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, Wichita, Kansas, United States |
| Destination | Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Arlington County, Virginia, United States |
| Occupants | 64 |
| Passengers | 60 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | 64 |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Second aircraft | |
 A VH-60M Black Hawk similar to the aircraft involved in the accident | |
| Type | Sikorsky VH-60M Black Hawk |
| Operator | United States Army 12th Aviation Battalion |
| Call sign | PAT25 |
| Registration | 00-26860 |
| Flight origin | Davison Army Airfield, Fort Belvoir, Fairfax County, Virginia, United States[better source needed] |
| Occupants | 3 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Fatalities | 3 |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Survivors | 0 |
On January 29, 2025, a mid-air collision occurred when PSA Airlines Flight 5342, a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport in Kansas to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport near Washington, D.C., collided in a mid-air with a United States Army Sikorsky VH-60M Black Hawk helicopter. None of the 67 people involved in the collision survived.[1][2][3][4][5]
This accident was the first fatal crash involving American Airlines since the crash of Flight 587 on November 12, 2001.[6] This accident was also the first fatal crash for a commercial airline on to have occurred in the United States since PenAir Flight 3296 in 2019.
Accident
[change | change source]Less than 30 seconds before the collision, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter crew whether they had Flight 5342 in sight. A crew member replied that they could see the airliner, and requested "visual separation" from the plane; this was approved by the controllers.[7][8] A few seconds before the collision, the air traffic controller ordered the helicopter to pass behind Flight 5342.[7][9]
At 8:48 p.m. EST, Flight 5342 collided with the Black Hawk, which exploded, then crashed into the middle of the Potomac River. Flight 5342's radio transponder ceased transmitting about 2,400 ft (730 m) short of runway 33.[7][9] The incident was captured by a webcam at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.[10] Another video shows a brief trail of fire.[11] The CRJ700 "split in half" in the river, while the helicopter crashed in the river upside down and near the crashed plane.[12]
A pilot in an uninvolved aircraft confirmed seeing the crash to an air traffic controller, and reported seeing flares from the side of the Potomac opposite to them as they were on short final.
Victims
[change | change source]Within hours, law enforcement officials and sources confirmed deaths.[13][14] On February 4, officials confirmed all 67 bodies were found.[15]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Regan, Helen; Romine, Taylor; Faheid, Dalia; Lynch, Jamiel; Vera, Amir; Park, Hanna (January 29, 2025). "American Airlines plane crash near Washington, DC; Reagan National Airport takeoffs and landings halted". CNN. Archived from the original on January 30, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
A US Army Blackhawk (H-60) helicopter collided with passenger aircraft near Washington on Wednesday, according to two US defense officials.
- ↑ "Playback of flight AA5342". FlightRadar24. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
- ↑ "FAA Statements on Aviation Accidents and Incidents". Federal Aviation Administration. January 29, 2025. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
- ↑ "No survivors from D.C. plane crash, officials believe, as recovery operations begin". The Washington Post. 30 January 2025. Archived from the original on 30 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
Officials believe that all passengers and crew onboard American Eagle Flight 5342, which collided midair Wednesday evening with an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport, were killed, and are pivoting search-and-rescue teams to recovery operations. "At this point, we don't believe there are any survivors from this accident," D.C. Fire Chief John Donnelly said Thursday at a news conference, adding that rescue teams have recovered 27 bodies from the plane and one body from the helicopter.
- ↑ Harvey, Lex (30 January 2025). "What we know about the passenger plane collision near Washington, DC". CNN. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
- ↑ Leclercq, Matt (January 29, 2025). "American Airlines crash in Washington, D.C., may be carrier's worst disaster in two decades". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Live updates: Passenger jet with 64 aboard collides with Army helicopter at Reagan Airport near DC". Associated Press. January 30, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
- ↑ "Timeline of air traffic controllers issuing warnings before American Airlines plane, Black Hawk helicopter collision in DC". Newyork Post. 30 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Passenger Jet With 64 Aboard Collides With Army Helicopter While Landing at Reagan Airport Near D.C." Time. 30 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.[permanent dead link]
- ↑ "Aircraft down in Potomac River". airlinesgeeks.com. January 30, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
- ↑ Cameron, Chris (January 29, 2025). "Footage from a live webcam operated by the Kennedy Center appears to show a collision between two aircraft over Washington". The New York Times. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
- ↑ "Washington DC plane crash: Jet with 60 passengers collides with US Army helicopter and crashes into river". BBC News. January 30, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
- ↑ "Bodies pulled from Potomac after collision". The Washington Post.
- ↑ "Fatalities confirmed after passenger plane collides with Army Black Hawk, source says". CNN. January 30, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
- ↑ Press, Associated (2025-02-04). "Remains of all 67 victims of Washington DC plane crash recovered, officials say". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-02-07.