Washington DC plane crash: rescuers search Potomac river for survivors after plane collides with military helicopter – live
Washington DC plane crash: rescuers search Potomac river for survivors after plane collides with military helicopter – live
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An American Airlines flight operated by PSA has collided with a military helicopter as it was approaching Reagan Washington national airport, the federal aviation administration has confirmed. Here’s what we know so far:. The plane was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members when it collided with the Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night, American Airlines confirmed. It had departed from Wichita, Kansas.
![[Emergency response teams assess airplane wreckage in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington airport.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7ad10e46cc4becbeef3d654ed4043ec1e982b7b4/0_0_3286_2191/master/3286.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The helicopter was carrying three soldiers, multiple news outlets reported, citing US defence officials. They said no senior army officials were onboard. All takeoffs and landings were halted at the airport as the rescue operation got underway. Dozens of firefighters were “engaged in dive operations” on the Potomac River, Edward Kelly, the general president of the international association of firefighters, said. Ambulances and other rescue workers including from the military, the park police and the DC metropolitan police department also rushed to the scene.
![[A view of the scene after a regional plane collided in midair with a military helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. United States on January 30, 2025. 'A PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet collided in midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on approach to Runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 p.m. local time,' the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d74713f881f12abbb44dca464609a5858789d355/0_88_3542_2125/master/3542.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
President Donald Trump said he had been briefed on the “terrible accident” and praising the “incredible work” done by emergency services. US senator Ted Cruz said “we know there are fatalities” from the plane and helicopter collision, although he did not say where he had got his information from and there are no confirmed casualties as yet.
![[Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser addresses the media, after American Eagle flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed into Potomac River, US January 30, 2025.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/daf0e611d2476d86f4c9eea5a945eadaa5430212/0_71_2127_1276/master/2127.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
