A passenger plane and an Army helicopter collided in midair Wednesday night near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The collision around 9 p.m. EST has led to an extensive search and rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River.
There was no immediate word on casualties or the cause of the collision. The FAA said that the regional jet, which had departed from Wichita, Kansas, was on approach to the airport runway when it collided with the Blackhawk helicopter. The incident occurred in the heavily controlled airspace over the White House and Capitol, three miles to the south.
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All takeoffs and landings at Reagan National Airport were suspended following the collision. Law enforcement helicopters from around the region are assisting in the search for survivors. Inflatable rescue boats have been launched in the Potomac River.
AP reports that President Donald Trump was informed of the situation, his press secretary said. Vice President JD Vance took to social media, saying “say a prayer for everyone involved.”
Investigators are piecing together the final moments before the collision, looking at data from air traffic controllers and the aircraft’s radio transponder. That transponder data shows that American Airlines flight 5342, a Canadian-made Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine jet, had a steep loss of altitude over the Potomac River just minutes before it was set to land. The jet, which was built in 2004, carries up to 70 passengers.
Audio from the air traffic control tower shows that controllers asked the commercial jet if it could land on the shorter Runway 33 at Reagan National. The pilots said they could. The plane was then cleared to land on Runway 33, and flight tracking sites show it veering off its approach to the new runway. Seconds after the apparent collision, a controller is heard asking the helicopter, “PAT25 do you have the CRJ in sight,” referring to the passenger aircraft. Another pilot calls out, “Tower did you see that?”
The collision of a passenger jet and a military helicopter so close to the nation’s capital is a significant event. It will likely raise questions about the safety and security measures in place at one of the nation’s busiest airports. The incident recalls the Air Florida flight that crashed into the Potomac River on January 13, 1982, killing 78 people. Bad weather caused that crash.
