At least 18 bodies have been recovered after a midair collision between a regional passenger jet and a helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport, CBS News reported, citing a police official.
The passenger jet collided with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, prompting a large search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River.
All takeoffs and landings from the airport near Washington were halted as helicopters from law enforcement agencies across the region flew over the scene in search of survivors. Inflatable rescue boats were launched into the Potomac River from a point near the airport along the George Washington Parkway, just north of the airport.
President Donald Trump was briefed, his press secretary said, and Vice President JD Vance encouraged followers on the social media platform X to “say a prayer for everyone involved.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said the midair collision occurred when a regional jet that had departed from Wichita, Kansas, crashed into a military Blackhawk helicopter while on approach to an airport runway. In audio from the air traffic control tower around the time of the crash, a controller is heard asking the helicopter, “PAT25 do you have the CRJ in sight,” in reference to the passenger aircraft.
“Tower did you see that?” another pilot is heard calling seconds after the apparent collision. The tower immediately began diverting other aircraft from Reagan. In a post on social media, American Airlines said it was aware of reports that one of its flights was involved in the incident and said it would provide more information once available.
Video from an observation camera at the nearby Kennedy Center shows two sets of lights consistent with aircraft appearing to join in a fireball. The airport said emergency personnel were responding to “an aircraft incident on the airfield.”
Bd-pratidin English/ Afia
