A midair collision between an Army helicopter and a jetliner killed all 67 people aboard the two aircraft. President Donald Trump on Thursday told a White House news conference that no one survived.
“We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” said John Donnelly, the fire chief in the nation’s capital.
The crash occurred before 9 pm in some of the most tightly controlled and monitored airspace in the world, just over 3 miles (about 4.8 kilometers) south of the White House and the Capitol.
Air crash investigations can take months, and federal investigators told reporters they would not speculate on the cause.
AP Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports President Trump is diving into politics over the fatal aircraft crash.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder from the Bombardier CRJ700 airplane, agency spokesperson Peter Knudson said. They were at the agency’s labs for evaluation.
The plane was found upside-down in three sections in waist-deep water, and first responders were searching miles of the Potomac, Donnelly said. The helicopter wreckage was also found. Images from the river showed boats around the partly submerged wing and the mangled wreckage of the plane’s fuselage.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said the plane was making a normal approach when “the military aircraft came into the path” of the jet.
Staffing decision and airspace complexity under scrutiny
A single air traffic controller was managing both helicopter and plane traffic when the collision occurred, an unusual configuration at that time, according to an FAA report. The airport typically consolidates positions at 9:30 pm, but the tower supervisor ordered it earlier that night.
The FAA has long faced staffing shortages, while Reagan National’s congested airspace demands precise coordination. The Black Hawk helicopter crew was experienced with the route, but its altitude at the time of impact is under investigation. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested altitude was a factor.
Former President Trump politicized the crash, blaming FAA diversity hiring initiatives without evidence. Inside Reagan National, stranded passengers mourned the tragedy as flights resumed by midday.
Collision happened in tightly controlled airspace
Flight 5342 was inbound to Reagan National at an altitude of about 400 feet (122 meters) and a speed of about 140 mph (225 kph) when it rapidly lost altitude over the Potomac, according to data from its radio transponder. The Canadian-made Bombardier CRJ-700 twin-engine jet, manufactured in 2004, can be configured to carry up to 70 passengers.
A few minutes before the crash, air traffic controllers directed the jet to a shorter runway, and flight-tracking sites showed that it adjusted its approach.
Less than 30 seconds before the collision, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter if it had the arriving plane in sight.
A crewmember said the aircraft was in sight and requested “visual separation” — allowing it to fly closer than otherwise might be allowed if pilots did not see the plane. Controllers approved the request.
Seconds later, the two aircraft collided.
Source: AP
Bd-pratidin English/Fariha Nowshin Chinika
