What we know about the passenger plane collision near Washington, DC

Hundreds of first responders are battling cold and windy conditions as they search for possible survivors in the icy Potomac River which ranges from 33 to 36 degrees Fahrenheit.

(CNN) — Officials believe there are no survivors after a passenger plane on approach to Reagan National Airport near Washington, DC, collided Wednesday night with a US Army helicopter midair, sending both aircraft into the Potomac River below, a DC fire official said.

First responders have recovered 27 bodies from the plane and one from the helicopter, Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly said at a news conference Thursday morning. There were 64 people on board the plane and the three soldiers in the Army helicopter, according to DC Mayor Muriel Bowser.

“Sadly, there are no survivors,” President Donald Trump said in a news conference at the White House late Thursday morning.

“This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation’s capital and in our nation’s history, and a tragedy of terrible proportions,” Trump said. “As one nation, we grieve for every precious soul that has been taken from us so suddenly.”

Here’s what we know about the crash, which is the deadliest aviation disaster in the US in more than two decades.

What happened?

The passenger plane was American Airlines Flight 5342, operated by PSA Airlines, traveling from Wichita, Kansas, to Reagan National, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

The Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet was due to land at the airport Wednesday night when it collided midair with the Army helicopter as it approached Runway 33, according to the FAA and defense officials.

Flight records showed the plane was expected to land around 9 p.m. local time. DC Police said it received calls at 8:53 p.m. about “an aircraft crash above the Potomac River.”

The collision took place while the helicopter was conducting a routine training mission, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at the White House Thursday. But “a mistake was made.”

The 12th Aviation Battalion, based out of Fort Belvoir in Virginia, provides helicopter transportation and “technical rescue support” to the National Capital Region.

“The military does dangerous things. It does routine things on a regular basis. Tragically, last night, a mistake was made,” Hegseth said. “There was some, some sort of an elevation issue that we have immediately begun investigating at the DOD and Army level.”

Newly sworn-in Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy had earlier indicated both the helicopter and the American Airlines flight were operating in “standard” flight patterns.

“At this time, we don’t know why the military aircraft came into the path of the PSA aircraft,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said Thursday morning.

The Black Hawk helicopter was on an annual proficiency training flight, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said.

The 12th Aviation Battalion is currently on an operational pause, Hegseth said, until what happened is reviewed. An investigation will seek to determine whether the helicopter was in the proper corridor and at the right altitude at the time of the incident, he said.

A video of the crash filmed by EarthCam shows what appears to be the helicopter and plane colliding in the sky, resulting in a fiery explosion.

Ari Schulman said he was driving home when he witnessed the collision.

“Initially I saw the plane and it looked fine. Normal. It was right about to head over land, maybe 120 feet above the water,” Schulman told CNN. Seconds later, the plane “was banked all the way to the right… past 90 degrees.”

“I could see the underside of it. It was lit up a very bright yellow, and there was a stream of sparks underneath it” and then everything went dark, he said.

Air traffic controller audio obtained by CNN from LiveATC.net captured air traffic control operators directing the helicopter to pass behind the passenger plane.

An air traffic controller said, “PAT 2-5 do you have the CRJ in sight?”

The controller then said, “PAT 2-5 pass behind the CRJ.”

Additional air traffic control audio shortly before the collision captures the helicopter pilot saying, “PAT 2-5 has aircraft in sight, request visual separation.”

Less than 13 seconds later, the audio then captured audible gasps, including a loud “oooh” in the background apparently from the tower, at the moment of the crash.

The airspace over Reagan National Airport is among the busiest in the country, and passenger planes frequently share the airspace with helicopters.

All takeoffs and landings were halted at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport until 11 a.m. local time Thursday, when the airport resumed flight operations. However, airport authorities are directing passengers to check with airlines about canceled or delayed flights.

How many people were on board?

There were 60 passengers and four crew on board the flight, American Airlines told CNN. The US Army helicopter had a crew of three and was not carrying any VIPs, according to a US defense official.

Wednesday’s collision is the deadliest aviation disaster in the US since November 12, 2001, when an American Airlines flight crashed in New York, killing all 260 people on board.

The Pentagon is withholding the names and ranks of the Black Hawk’s crew members until next of kin are notified, Hegseth said earlier Thursday – though National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told Fox News the crew included one officer, a warrant officer and a crew chief.

“It was a fairly experienced crew that was doing an annual required night evaluation,” Hegseth said.

The two pilots aboard American Airlines Flight 5342 were not newcomers to complex commercial flight, the company’s CEO said.

“These are experienced pilots,” said Isom. “I know that the captain had … almost six years with PSA (Airlines), and the first officer almost two years.”

Officials in Wichita, Kansas, do not know how many of the passengers were local residents and how many were traveling through the city, they said at a news conference Thursday. “We don’t have the manifest at this moment,” said Wichita Mayor Lily Wu.

The manifest, managed by American Airlines, will be disseminated through their official sources and the National Transportation Safety Board, said Director of Airports in Wichita Jesse Romo.

Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran described the crash as “a very personal circumstance” for Kansans. “We’re going to know people who are on this flight, know their family members,” Moran said in a press conference.

American Airlines has set up a center at the airport and shared a toll-free number and said family of people who were onboard Flight 5342 should call 1-800-679-8215 for information.

“Several members” of the US figure skating community were on board the flight after participating in events related to the US Figure Skating Championships in Kansas, the national governing body of the sport confirmed. They included Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who were the 1994 world figure skating champions in pairs. They represented Russia but moved to the US, where they launched successful coaching careers.

Skater Jinna Han and her mother, Jin Han, were also killed, along with skater Spencer Lane and his mother Christine Lane, according to the Skating Club of Boston.

There were Russians aboard the downed American Airlines flight, Trump said, adding there were “some other countries represented.”

The US State Department has “reached out to the foreign diplomatic community to let them know we will be in contact as soon as we have confirmation via the NTSB of foreign national casualties,” a spokesperson told CNN.

What do we know about the recovery efforts?

There are not believed to be any survivors from the midair collision over the Potomac River, and rescuers are now conducting a recovery operation, Donnelly said.

“It’s a highly complex operation. The conditions out there are extremely rough,” John Donnelly, DC Fire and EMS Chief said, but added that officials are confident they will recover all bodies of those killed.

About 300 first responders are battling cold and windy conditions as they work to recover those bodies from the Potomac River in near-freezing temperatures.

The section of the river divers are working in is about 8 feet deep, dark and murky with floating pieces of ice, Donnelly said, adding search efforts will likely take days.

Temperatures in the river are currently hovering around 35 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Sudden immersion in such frigid water, known as cold shock, can trigger immediate physiological responses such as uncontrolled gasping, rapid breathing or hyperventilation, according to the National Weather Service.

The dangers escalate with prolonged exposure. Hypothermia begins when the body’s core temperature falls to 95 degrees, a process that can start within moments in water this cold.

In 35-degree water, individuals may lose dexterity in as little as three minutes, with unconsciousness occurring within 15 to 30 minutes, according to the weather service. Survival times in such conditions are estimated to range between 30 and 90 minutes.

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The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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