Updated: Jan. 30, 2025, at 9:08 a.m.
A small passenger plane crashed into the Potomac River Wednesday night after colliding with a military helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The FAA said a Blackhawk helicopter collided midair with American Airlines Flight 5342, which departed from Witchita, Kansas, around 9 p.m. on Wednesday. The Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement that city police and D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services are coordinating a search and rescue operation in the Potomac River.
The American Airlines plane carried 60 passengers and four crew members, and three soldiers were aboard the helicopter, CNN reported. FEMS has recovered the bodies of 27 flight passengers and one from the helicopter as of Thursday morning, and personnel do not believe anyone survived the crash, FEMS Chief John Donnelly said at a press conference Thursday morning.
“We are now at a point where we’re switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” Donnelly said Thursday morning. “At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident.”
Footage from a Kennedy Center live webcam appears to show the helicopter colliding into the aircraft over the District at 8:47 p.m., with an explosion lighting up the sky.
Reagan National Airport halted all takeoffs and landings at the airport as emergency personnel responded to an “aircraft incident on the field,” the airport said in a statement. Reagan National Airport will not reopen until 11 a.m. Thursday and passengers at the airport were sent to Baltimore’s Thurgood Marshall International Airport and Dulles International Airport.
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An FBI Washington Field Office spokesperson said its National Capital Response Squad is responding to an “aviation incident” at Reagan National Airport. NBC Washington reported that a senior FBI official said there’s nothing to indicate anything criminal or terrorist-related was involved in the crash.
GW Hospital did not immediately return a request for comment on if they anticipate victims being transported to the hospital for treatment.
“We have routine mass casualty protocols in place,” said Jeffrey Williams, an assistant professor of medicine at GW Hospital.
President Donald Trump said in a statement Wednesday night that he had been “fully” briefed on the accident and that he is monitoring the situation.
“May God bless their souls. Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders,” Trump said in the statement.
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Heather Chairez, Joint Task Force-National Capital Region media chief, said the helicopter was on a training flight at the time of the crash.
This story is developing.
Ella Mitchell, Rachel Moon and Kaiden J. Yu contributed reporting.