An American Airlines plane, with 60 passengers and 4 crew members, collided on Wednesday night, local time, with a military helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington DC. The wreckage of the two aircraft has fallen into the Potomac River, complicating rescue efforts due to the frigid water temperature. Authorities have stated that there are no survivors after reporting the recovery of the lifeless bodies of 28 people.
"It is really tough when you lose, probably, more than 60 citizens of Kansas simultaneously," said Senator Roger Marshall from the airport during a press conference with other politicians and officials, acknowledging that there are no survivors. The plane had taken off from Wichita, Kansas.
Local media confirmed that there were casualties and that rescue teams had retrieved some bodies from the water and were taking them to the support base near the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge that the Police Department has. So far, the lifeless bodies of 27 American Airlines passengers and 1 from the helicopter have been recovered, according to the fire chief, after the tragic accident in which there are no survivors.
CBS News also reports that one of the black boxes from the passenger plane has been recovered.
Among the passengers were a group of figure skaters, their coaches, and family members, returning from the U.S. Championship held in Wichita, Kansas, as confirmed by the U.S. Figure Skating Federation. According to Russian public media, two former world champions, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, were on the plane with their son, Maxim Naumov, whom they were coaching.
It is feared to be the darkest day since September 11, 2001. The last major commercial aviation accidents date back to 2013 when Asian Airlines Flight 214 crashed in San Francisco, resulting in three fatalities and 187 injuries. And to February 12, 2009, when Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed near Buffalo, New York, with 50 fatalities.
The Federal Aviation Administration explained that a flight from Wichita, Kansas, collided with the helicopter, an H-60 Black Hawk, conducting training with three crew members, just before 9:00 p.m. local time, as it was almost reaching Runway 33 of the Airport, one of the three in the capital, the smallest but also the closest, a few kilometers from the city center and next to the Pentagon. The maneuver, from the south, involves a final left turn over the water to reach the runway.
The images, with little clarity due to darkness, show how the helicopter makes an unexpected maneuver turning to the right when the plane is finishing its approach, causing the collision and a huge explosion. The tragedy vividly recalls another accident almost in the same location over 40 years ago. On January 13, 1982, a passenger plane bound for Tampa, Florida, collided with a bridge over the river after taking off from Washington National Airport in the midst of a snowstorm, leaving 78 dead and the same images of the fuselage submerged in the water.
An audio recording from an air traffic controller, obtained by CNN, captures the moment when operators ask the helicopter if the commercial flight operated by PSA Airlines is in sight. A controller asks: "PAT 2-5, do you have the CRJ in sight?" and then tells them: "PAT 2-5 pass behind the CRJ." The audio then captured audible gasps, including a loud "oooh" in the background apparently from the tower, at the moment of the collision. And then a warning to other aircraft, explaining that there has been a "collision at the approach end of 3-3. We are going to close operations indefinitely."
At 8:53 p.m., the Police explained, dozens of calls began to come in to report what had happened, and firefighters and coast guards mobilized immediately, both on land and in the water. Various departments, including numerous professional divers, are searching for survivors, as well as aircraft debris, in a wide area covering the District of Columbia, but also Virginia. The temperatures on Wednesday were not particularly low in the area, but were in the water, following the start of the coldest year in decades, with temperatures below 15 degrees below zero last week. In some areas, blocks of ice could still be seen in the river this morning. The search conditions, without light and with strong winds and currents, are especially difficult and dangerous, as emphasized by officials in a press conference past midnight.
PSA, a regional subsidiary of American Airlines, operated the plane. Robert Isom, CEO of American Airlines, reacted in a video of almost three minutes released less than four hours after the fatal accident, indicating that the airline was cooperating with authorities. "We want to learn everything we can about today's events," he said, promising to do everything possible to assist those affected.
The company blames the military helicopter for what happened and states that they do not understand "why the military aircraft got in the path" of their aircraft.
Authorities have suspended all operations at Ronald Reagan at least until 11 a.m. on Thursday, although it is likely to be extended, as the collision occurred when there were only a few seconds left to touch down. Hours after the crash, airport staff were still working to evacuate all passengers who were on the runways in planes ready for takeoff. The new Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, confirmed that the helicopter was a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk from Company Bravo of the 12th Battalion, based at Davidson Army Airfield, a few kilometers south of the accident site.
"I have been briefed in detail on the terrible accident that has just occurred at Reagan National Airport. May God bless their souls. Thank you for the incredible work our emergency teams are doing. I am closely monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they emerge," said President Donald Trump in a statement. But shortly after, on his Truth Social account, he pointed fingers at both the helicopter crew and the control tower. "The plane was on a perfect and routine approach line to the airport. The helicopter headed directly towards the plane for an extended period of time. It was a CLEAR NIGHT, the plane's lights were on, why didn't the helicopter climb or descend, or turn? Why didn't the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane? This is a bad situation that seems like it should have been avoided. NOT GOOD!!!" he posted to his followers.
Just a week ago, Trump boasted about firings and having put an "end to the diversity madness and restored excellence and safety in the Federal Aviation Administration," claiming that "almost unbelievably, as a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiative, Biden's FAA specifically recruited and hired individuals with 'severe' intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems, and total paralysis over other people seeking to work for the FAA."
"Our prayers are with all those involved, and we will continue to keep the public informed as more information becomes available," promised the mayor of the capital, Muriel Bowser, who traveled to the airport.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who was sworn in this morning, instructed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Transportation (USDOT) to "provide full support" to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and other agencies involved in the response. "I have spoken with Mayor Bowser, Governor Youngkin of Virginia, Governor Kelly of Kansas, and NTSB President Homendy to offer our agency's full assistance," he added. "Thanks to all the rescuers who are on-site and conducting search and rescue operations."