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Passenger #jet collides with #helicopter near Washington's #ReaganAirport
The US #FAA said on Wednesday night that a PSA Airlines regional jet collided midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on approach to Reagan Washington National Airport.
PSA was operating #Flight5342 for #AmericanAirlines, which had departed from #Wichita, #Kansas, according to the FAA. According to American Airlines' website, the jet has a capacity for up to 65 passengers.
Police said multiple agencies were involved in a search & rescue operation in the #Potomac River, which borders the airport but that there was no immediate word on casualties.
The #ReaganAirport said late on Wednesday that all takeoffs & landings had been halted & emergency personnel had responded to an aircraft incident.
The #NTSB said it was gathering more information on the incident.
Footage from a live webcam operated by the Kennedy Center appears to show a collision between two aircraft over Washington. At 8:47PM on the live stream, two aircraft are seen colliding, & an explosion illuminates the night sky.
It is difficult to see what happened from the webcam footage, but it sure looks like the helicopter flew straight into the plane.
The #helicopter involved in the collision was a U.S. Army #BlackHawk, according to an #Army official.
The official also said there were no senior Army officials onboard the helicopter. At least three US #soldiers were on the helicopter at the time of the collision.
In a statement, #AmericanAirlines said there were 60 passengers & 4 crew members aboard American Eagle #Flight5342, which was en route from #Wichita, #Kansas, to #ReaganNationalAirport. The aircraft, operated by PSA Airlines, was a CRJ-700.
“Our concern is for the passengers & crew on board the aircraft,” the carrier said in a statement. “We are in contact with authorities and assisting with emergency response efforts.”
The airline said those who believe they may have had loved ones on the flight should call American Airlines toll-free at 800-679-8215. Individuals calling from outside the US can visit news.aa.com for additional phone numbers. Family members in Canada, Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands can call 800-679-8215 directly.
American said it would continue to release additional details as they become available.
A DC official familiar w/the emergency response to the crash said rescue workers have pulled bodies out of the water & are bringing them to the police department’s air support base near the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge.
The official did not provide casualty numbers. The official said there has been no successful rescues as of 10:30PM, meaning no one found alive.
The #Army said in a statement that the #helicopter, a UH-60 #BlackHawk, was operating out of #FortBelvoir in #Virginia. It was unclear if the helicopter was departing or returning to Fort Belvoir.
Sara Nelson, the president of the Association of #FlightAttendants union, said 2 union flight attendants were working the #AmericanAirlines flight that crashed.
No Survivors After #PassengerPlane & #Helicopter #Crash Near Washington
An #AmericanAirlines jet carrying 64 people plunged into the #Potomac River after colliding in midair with an #Army helicopter on Wednesday night. Recovery teams pulled more than two dozen bodies from the icy water, officials said.
In a news conference at #ReaganNationalAirport on Thurs morning, Mayor Muriel Bowser of #Washington was joined by the new #transportation Secy, #SeanDuffy, as well as Senators #MarkWarner & #TimKaine.
Mayor Bowser thanked the first responders for their rescue work overnight in the frigid waters of the #Potomac River.
#USDOT Secy Duffy, said the night was clear & that both the plane & the helicopter that collided were flying in a standard flight pattern. “This was not unusual,” he said.
#AA5342
Duffy said authorities had located the 2 aircraft, & that the fuselage of the plane was found in 3 different sections in waist-deep water.
“We will not rest until we have answers for the families & for the flying public,” Duffy said.
Washington’s Fire & EMS Chief John Donnelly described responders enduring “extremely frigid conditions,” as well as “heavy wind” & “ice on the water” as they conducted search & rescue efforts overnight.
Chief Donnelly said the authorities were switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. They had recovered the bodies of 27 people from the plane & one from the helicopter. “We don’t believe there are any survivors,” he said.
Robert Isom, the chief executive of #AmericanAirlines, said that the collision took place “on an otherwise normal approach.” He said there were 4 crew members & 60 passengers on the plane.
“Unfortunately we were not able to rescue anyone,” said Jack Potter, the chief exec of the MWAA.
Duffy said that the flight paths of the plane & helicopter were “not unusual for what happens in the DC airspace.. …everything was standard in the lead-up to the crash,” pointing out that US #military helicopters routinely fly up & down the #Potomac River.
There was “not a breakdown” in communication between the military helicopter, the plane & the air traffic control tower, Duffy said.
Isom, the chief exec of #AmericanAirlines, said the pilot of the plane was experienced. He said the captain of the flight had spent 6 years with the airline, & the first officer 2 years.
Duffy said that he believed this disaster was “absolutely” preventable. Then the news conference concluded.
#US & #Russian #FigureSkaters Among #Passengers on Crashed Jet
Members of the U.S. figure skating community were traveling on the commercial jet that collided with a military helicopter outside Washington.
US Figure Skating, the American governing body for the sport, said the skaters were returning from a training camp following the national figure skating championships, held in Wichita, KS. Russian figure skaters—as well as other Russian citizens—were among those on the plane.
Revolting pig
#Trump is now speaking about the #AmericanAirlines crash. It is his first appearance in the briefing room since his White House return.
He immediately goes from *mourning* the victims to political attacks. He assails fmr Transportation Sec Pete Buttigieg as “a disaster,” blaming him for #diversity objectives at the FAA. The inference is that diversity = incompetence.
There is no evidence, at least yet, to suggest that the air traffic controllers were at fault in the crash.
“We do not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions & ideas,” #Trump said.
He blamed the #Obama admin for the quality of air traffic controllers that Trump inherited during his 1st term, saying he needed to make sure they were of “superior intelligence.” The #Biden admin, he said, “Changed them back to lower than ever before.’
#Trump suggested that the US #Army #helicopter was at fault in the crash, saying that while the pilots of the plane were “doing everything right,” the helicopter that struck it was “going at an angle that was unbelievably bad.”
“We had a situation where we had a helicopter that had an ability to stop,” he said, somewhat mysteriously. “You could have slowed down the helicopter, you could have stopped the helicopter,”or gone up or down he said. “For some reason, it just kept going.”
Holy crap! Asked by a reporter how, before the investigation has concluded, #Trump can conclude that #diversity was to blame for the #crash.
His response: “Because I have common sense.”
#racist! #racism #WhiteSupremacy #MaleSupremacy #Heterosexism
#PeteButtigieg responds to #Trump’s *briefing*
“Despicable. As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying.We put safety 1st, drove down close calls, grew ATC,& had zero commercial airline crash fatalities out of millions of flights on our watch.
Trump now oversees the military & the FAA. One of his 1st acts was to fire & suspend…key personnel who helped keep our skies safe. Time for the President to show actual leadership & explain what he will do to prevent this from happening again.”
Just days before the crash, #Trump enacted a sweeping shake-up of #FederalAgencies responsible for #aviation #oversight, removing the #TSA admin, David Pekoske, & eliminating ALL members of a key aviation #security advisory group. The #FAA, which regulates airlines & aircraft manufacturers & manages US #airspace, was also w/o leadership at the time of the crash, its top ofcl, Michael Whitaker, stepped down ahead of the new admin’s transition after clashing w/ #ElonMusk.
https://time.com/7211690/washington-dc-plane-crash-trump-aviation/
@Nonilex@masto.ai This is following Trump's standard game plan: Smash things, blame the chaos on Democrats, take credit for things Democrats did, normalize hate, encourage division.
1/20 FAA Director fired
1/21 Air Traffic Controllers hiring frozen
1/22 Aviation Safety Advisory Committee disbanded
1/28 Buyout/retirement offer sent to almost all federal employees
1/29 First mid-air collision in the US in 16 years.
They starved the function by understaffing and made them afraid for their jobs which might actually be distracting. Nevermind that there’s airports operating without ATCs because they tried to privatize and low ball the ATCs who just threw up their hands and quit.
But tell me again about how it’s due to DEI hiring. 
CowMan 
@arch @Bam @Nonilex ah, ya, I see. There was a mid-air collision over the Hudson; Piper and a helicopter (but that can't be it, similar to those Alaska ones)
I believe you are correct! The Hudson flights were operating under Part 91 & 135/136. Commercial airlines, would refer to Flight 3407 in 2009 (though, that was not a mid-air collision).
Thanks!
@Nonilex @Bam Excellence and safety within the federal aviation administration were restored https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/01/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-ends-dei-madness-and-restores-excellence-and-safety-within-the-federal-aviation-administration/ 
Except when a company fails for breaking things, business just moves elsewhere. When the government does the same, people die.
@Nonilex
Look at the 2nd image- what a chopper pilot sees through NVGs. Great for open terrain; in busy airspace where a plane can rapidly emerge from beyond the illuminated center field- not so much.
https://nightflightconcepts.com/know-helicopter-night-vision-goggles/
@Nonilex Trump kicked out SecDefense Lloyd Austin, a black man, who was responsible for ZERO mid-air collisions, with Pete Hegseth, a totally unqualified white man who managed 67 dead bodies in the Potomac in less than a fortnight. And Trump tries to blame the crash on DEI.