More than 60 feared dead after jet hits helicopter, crashes into Washington river
Department of Research, Studies and International News 30-01-2025
More than 60 people were feared dead after an American Airlines regional passenger jet collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter and crashed into the frigid Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport.
“At this point we do not believe there were any survivors,” District of Columbia fire chief John Donnelly said at a Friday press conference at the airport.
Donnelly said 28 bodies had been recovered from the river so far, in what was shaping up to be the deadliest US air disaster in more than a decade. “We will work to find all the bodies and reunite them with their loved ones,” he said.
American Airlines confirmed 60 passengers and four crew members were aboard the jet. The helicopter, on a training flight, was carrying three soldiers, a US official said.
Passengers on the flight included ice skaters, family and coaches returning from events in Wichita, Kansas, including Russian-born former world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.
CBS News reported that a dive team had recovered one of the two data recorders, the so-called black boxes, from the plane.
The midair collision occurred as the passenger jet flying from Wichita was approaching to land at Reagan. Radio communications between the air traffic control tower and the Black Hawk showed the helicopter crew knew the plane was in the vicinity.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said both the helicopter and the airplane had been flying normal flight patterns. “This was not unusual,” he said.
The Pentagon said it was launching an investigation. In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump questioned the actions of the helicopter crew and air traffic controllers on what he described as a clear night.
