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A passenger jet with 64 people on board collides with an Army helicopter while landing at Reagan Airport near Washington, D.C.

ARLINGTON, Va. USA — A jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided Wednesday with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., triggering a large-scale search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River. Multiple fatalities have been reported, though the exact number remains unclear as rescue crews continue searching for survivors.

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An Army official confirmed that three soldiers were aboard the helicopter at the time of the collision. The cause of the midair crash remains unknown, and all takeoffs and landings at the airport were temporarily halted. Dive teams scoured the river while law enforcement helicopters methodically searched for victims.

“We are going to recover our fellow citizens,” said District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser at a solemn news conference on Thursday morning. She declined to specify the number of bodies recovered.

Investigation Underway

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that the crash occurred shortly before 9 p.m. EST when American Airlines Flight 5342, a Bombardier CRJ-701 jet inbound from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a military UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter conducting a training flight. The accident happened in one of the most tightly controlled airspaces in the world, just three miles south of the White House and Capitol.

An airport police officer walks behind the American Airlines counter at Wichita’s Eisenhower Airport, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2024, in Wichita, Kan., after news that an American Airlines flight from Wichita collided with a helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington Airport. (AP Photo/Travis Heying)

Data from the jet’s radio transponder indicated that it was descending at approximately 400 feet and traveling at 140 miles per hour when it suddenly lost altitude over the Potomac River. Air traffic controllers had earlier cleared the aircraft to land on Reagan’s shorter Runway 33. Moments before the crash, a controller asked the helicopter if it had the arriving jet in sight and instructed it to pass behind the CRJ. Seconds later, the aircraft collided, and the plane’s transponder stopped transmitting roughly 2,400 feet from the runway.

Footage from a security camera at the Kennedy Center captured a fireball erupting as the two aircraft merged in the night sky.

Government and Public Reactions

Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas called the disaster “an unbearable sorrow.” Sen. Jerry Moran, also from Kansas, noted that many in Wichita would likely know passengers aboard the flight.

President Donald Trump stated that he had been “fully briefed on this terrible accident” and expressed condolences to the victims’ families, saying, “May God bless their souls.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the Army and the Department of Defense had launched an immediate investigation. Newly sworn-in Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy pledged all necessary resources for the probe.

Rescue and Recovery Efforts

On the scene, more than 300 first responders mobilized. Rescue boats were launched from the George Washington Parkway north of the airport, and light towers illuminated the river for search efforts. D.C. Fire Chief John Donnelly described the conditions as “extremely rough” for responders, citing strong currents and freezing temperatures.

At the time of the crash, temperatures in Washington hovered around 60 degrees Fahrenheit, but the Potomac River remained a frigid 36 degrees. Wind gusts of up to 25 mph further complicated recovery operations.

Reagan National Airport, a preferred hub for its proximity to downtown D.C., will reopen at 11 a.m. Thursday, the FAA announced. Earlier reports had indicated closures until 5 a.m. Friday.

Historical Parallels

The incident evokes memories of the Air Florida Flight 90 disaster on January 13, 1982, when a plane crashed into the Potomac during a snowstorm, killing 78 people. The last fatal commercial airline crash in the U.S. occurred in 2009 near Buffalo, New York, when a Bombardier DHC-8 stalled and crashed, killing all 50 people aboard and one person on the ground.

Authorities are urging patience as they conduct a thorough investigation into what led to this latest aviation tragedy.


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