Min-by-min rundown of DC jet disaster from ‘dangerous’ Blackhawk flight to horror audio & crash vid before river plunge
Min-by-min rundown of DC jet disaster from ‘dangerous’ Blackhawk flight to horror audio & crash vid before river plunge
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WHAT should have been a routine flight for American Airlines ended in disaster when it collided with a helicopter just moments before landing. Questions are now being asked over how the jet and chopped crashed mid-air before plunging into Washington DC's Potomac River.
![[Rescue boat at helicopter crash site at sunrise.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/rescuers-boat-work-sun-rises-967826526_be386e.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Hopes of finding survivors rapidly fading - with all 64 on board the plane and three on the helicopter believed to be dead. Horror footage showed the moment the twin-engine Bombardier CRJ700 jet collided with the US Army Black Hawk - with a bright flash lighting up the sky.
![[Airplane wreckage in the Potomac River with emergency responders.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/2025-arlington-virginia-american-airlines-967746048_f9a47c.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Desperate rescue crews are now frantically searching for survivors in the freezing water, with efforts being hampered by dark, cold conditions. Officials have warned there are "many, many, many" deaths as authorities figure out exactly what caused the tragedy.
![[Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov of Russia performing pairs figure skating.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/evgenia-shishkova-vadim-naumov-russia-967764979_eea1e6.jpg?strip=all&w=816)
This is the minute-by-minute breakdown of how the crash unfolded. 5.18pm, Jan 29 - The American Eagle Flight 5342 takes off from Wichita, Kansas. Several ice skaters are on board, having been at a contest in the city. USA Figure Skating later confirms athletes, coaches and relatives were travelling back home.
![[GIF of a plane crash.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/DCPlaneCrash_GIF.gif?strip=all&w=750)
Among those on board are Russian champion figure skaters Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, pictured below. 8.39pm - A US Army UH-60 helicopter takes off from Fort Beaver, Virginia. Three people are on board as part of a training exercise. Around 8.28pm - A woman on board the plane texts her husband to say the flight will be landing soon.
![[Illustration of a plane crash timeline showing the events leading up to and following a mid-air collision between an American Airlines plane and a US Army helicopter over the Potomac River.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/TOB-MAP-WASHINGTON-CRASH-v10.jpg?strip=all&w=638)
