US: Aircraft Carrying 64 People Collides With Helicopter At Reagan Airport; Fatalities Feared, Rescue Ops Underway

ꦍA passenger jet collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter at the Reagan National Airport outside of Washington, DC while landing, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and defense officials. The aircraft reportedly crashed in the Potomac River.

🧸FAA said the Reagan National Airport will remain closed until at least Friday at 5 a.m.

As per CNN, fatalities are feared as the aircraft carrying 60 passengers and 4 crew members collided with the army helicopter with a crew of three. Initially, the Associated Press reported that ꦦthere was no immediate word on casualties, but all takeoffs and landings from the airport near Washington have been halted as the “emergency personnel are responding to an aircraft incident on the airfield."

About the plane crash

🐈American Airlines flight 5342 was at an altitude of about 400 feet and a speed of about 140 miles per hour when it suffered a rapid loss of altitude over the Potomac River.

𓆉Data retrieved from the flight's radio transponder suggested that a few minutes before landing, air traffic controllers asked the arriving commercial jet if it could land on the shorter Runway 33 at Reagan National.

🔯The pilots said they were positive following which the controllers cleared the plane to land on Runway 33. Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked the army helicopter if it had the arriving plane in sight. The controller made another radio call to the helicopter moments later saying “PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ.”

♈ Seconds after that the two aircraft collide and the plane's radio transponder stopped transmitting about 2,400 feet short of the runway, roughly over the middle of the Potomac river.

✱As per the official statement issued by FAA, "A PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet collided in midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on approach to Runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 p.m. local time. PSA was operating as Flight 5342 for American Airlines. It departed from Wichita, Kansas."

President Trump briefed

🅰President Donald Trump has been was briefed, his press secretary said. In a statement late Wednesday, Trump thanked first responders for their “incredible work,” noting that he was “monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise."

ꦉMay God Bless their souls,” he further added, as per AP.

🌃Vice President JD Vance encouraged followers on the social media platform X to “say a prayer for everyone involved.”

Rescue ops underway

𓄧Helicopters from law enforcement agencies across the region promptly launched an extensive scene in search of survivors.

ౠInflatable rescue boats were launched into the Potomac River from a point near the airport along the George Washington Parkway, just north of the airport. Besides, the FBI Washington Field Office’s National Capital Response Squad is also responding to the situation to support law enforcement and public safety partners.

꧂Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem asserted that the Coast Guard has been 'deploying every available' resource to respond to the critical situation, reported AP.

𒅌“We are actively monitoring the situation & stand ready to support local responders,” Noem said in a post on X.

FAA, NTSB, FBI to Conduct Investigation

𝕴It has been told that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will lead the joint investigation with FAA.

✱According to BBC, the FBI has also released a statement from its Washington field office saying they are helping in the response to the mid-air collision.

"The FBI Washington Field Office’s National Capital Response Squad is responding to an aviation incident at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in support of our law enforcement and public safety partners. Please direct questions regarding this incident to the National Transportation Safety Board", BBC reported quoting FBI.