An American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided midair near Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night, plunging into the frigid Potomac River, officials confirmed.
CBS News reported that at least 18 bodies had been recovered, while sources told Reuters that multiple victims had been pulled from the water.
American Airlines stated that the aircraft, operated as PSA Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, carried 64 people—60 passengers and four crew members. Meanwhile, the U.S. Army confirmed that three soldiers were aboard the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Heartbroken relatives gathered at the airport, expressing frustration over the lack of official updates. Some said they were learning more from news reports.
Hamaad Raza, awaiting his wife’s arrival, recounted his last message from her: “She texted me that she was landing in 20 minutes. The rest of my texts didn’t go through… That’s when I realized something was wrong.”
Live footage from the Kennedy Center showed an explosion midair at 8:47 p.m. (0147 GMT), followed by a fireball plummeting into the river. Police, ambulance, and rescue units swiftly mobilized along the riverbank, with flashing emergency lights reflecting off the water.
Authorities halted all takeoffs and landings at Reagan Airport as emergency teams carried out search and rescue operations.
President Donald Trump, in a statement, said he had been “fully briefed on the terrible accident” and expressed condolences: “May God bless their souls. Thank you to the incredible first responders.”
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom pledged full cooperation with the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) investigation.
The incident marks the deadliest U.S. passenger airplane crash since 2009, rekindling concerns over air safety following a series of near-miss incidents in recent years.
