Mapped: American Airlines plane collides with army helicopter near DC airport
Mapped: American Airlines plane collides with army helicopter near DC airport
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The death toll from the two aircraft collision is presumed to be 67 as emergency services frantically wade through Potomac River in freezing conditions to desperately search for bodies. An American Airlines 5342 operating as a PSA Airlines jet collided with a US Army Sikorsky Blackhawk helicopter as both flew close to Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington DC at around 9 p.m. local time Wednesday.
![[A grim scene awaits Washington DC Thursday morning as EMS officials frantically search for bodies amongst the wreckage of two aircraft]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/30/9/09/Emergency-Crews-Respond-To-Aircraft-Crash-Near-Reagan-National-Airport-zt4kw0bv.jpeg)
None of the helicopter’s three crew were senior Army officials, authorities said. Close to 20 bodies have been recovered from the water, according to multiple networks. All flights in and out of Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan National Airport have been grounded until at least 11 a.m. Thursday.
Video footage from the nearby Kennedy Center shows two sets of lights consistent with separate aircraft appearing to conjoin in a fireball. “Mutual aid from neighboring agencies were called to assist, and takeoffs and landings at the airport were halted for the remainder of the evening. We will continue to post information as it becomes available.
“We are not expecting flights to resume until at least 11 a.m. today, January 30. Please check back for updates, and contact your airline directly for schedule updates.”. But the flight tracking data showed the flight’s status result as “unknown” and according to the visuals, the plane stopped midair on the east side of the Potomac River, roughly adjacent to Blue Pains in DC.
