Deadly Midair Collision Near Washington, D.C. Leaves Over 60 Feared Dead
A tragic midair collision between an American Airlines regional passenger flight and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport has resulted in more than 60 presumed fatalities, with no survivors expected.
Authorities have confirmed the recovery of 28 bodies so far, including 27 from the plane and one from the helicopter.
The crash occurred at approximately 8:48 p.m. Thursday, as American Eagle Flight 5342, a regional flight from Wichita, Kansas, was approaching the airport. The flight, operated by PSA Airlines, was a CRJ-700 with 60 passengers and four crew members onboard, including former world champion ice skaters Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.
The U.S. Army Black Hawk, carrying three soldiers on a training flight, was also in the area at the time. Both aircraft were following normal flight patterns under clear conditions, according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
The collision resulted in both aircraft crashing into the Potomac River, with wreckage scattered in the frigid waters. District of Columbia Fire Chief John Donnelly described the recovery efforts as challenging, with freezing temperatures and strong winds making the operation difficult. He also confirmed that authorities do not expect to find any survivors.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has initiated an investigation into the cause of the crash. A dive team has recovered one of the aircraftβs black boxes, and authorities are continuing their search for additional evidence.
Witnesses reported seeing a fireball and explosion upon impact, and air traffic controllers immediately rerouted other planes after the collision.
The crash, which claimed the lives of both American and Russian nationals, has been described as one of the deadliest aviation disasters in the U.S. in over a decade.
Ice skaters and their families are among the victims, and condolences have poured in from the Kremlin for the Russian nationals involved.
This incident calls to mind the 1982 Air Florida Flight 90 crash over the Potomac River, which killed 74 people. The last deadly U.S. commercial air crash occurred in 2009, when all 50 people aboard a Colgan Air flight perished in New York.
