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How catastrophe over the Potomac unfolded: Graphic reveals doomed American Airlines jet and navy Black Hawk helicopter on collision course earlier than mid-air fireball explosion

The United States suffered a fresh tragedy last night when a packed passenger jet collided with a US Army helicopter and plunged into Washington DC‘s Potomac River. 

The shocking collision took place as the American Airlines flight carrying 64 people made its final approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport shortly before 9pm ET last night.

A Black Hawk helicopter reportedly flying a training sortie cut through the airspace from the opposite direction under cover of darkness, seemingly obscured from the jet pilots’ view.

The aircraft slammed into one another just 400ft above ground, erupting in a violent explosion before plunging into the freezing Potomac River below.  

More than 300 first responders and rescue workers were deployed to the Potomac on inflatable boats while others erected searchlights to illuminate the murky waters in a desperate hunt for survivors.

But no one is thought to have survived the brutal mid-air collision that ended with the wreckage of both aircraft sinking to the bottom of the gushing river.

So far some 19 bodies have been pulled to the surface, with search efforts still ongoing. 

It is the first fatal crash involving a US commercial airline since 2009, when 50 people died in Buffalo, New York, following a crash of a Bombardier DHC-C propeller aircraft.

President Donald Trump said he had been ‘fully briefed on this terrible accident’ and, referring to the passengers, added, ‘May God Bless their souls’, while American Airlines CEO Robert Isom expressed ‘deep sorrow’ for the crash

Now, as rescue efforts continue and investigations into the tragic incident begin, here’s how the catastrophe unfolded. 

Surveillance footage taken from inside the airport also captured the moment the two collided in midair

Surveillance footage taken from inside the airport also captured the moment the two collided in midair

Rescue boats search the waters of the Potomac River for survivors after the deadly plane crash

Rescue boats search the waters of the Potomac River for survivors after the deadly plane crash

Emergency response teams are seen at the scene of the crash in the Potomac River

Emergency response teams are seen at the scene of the crash in the Potomac River

American Airlines flight 5342, a CRJ700 Bombardier, took off from Wichita, Kansas and was carrying 60 passengers and four crew.

The plane, designed to carry up to 70 people, was operating well within its capacity on a routine domestic flight, observers said.

‘I know that flight. I’ve flown it several times myself,’ said Kansas Senator Jerry Moran said in the wake of the crash.

A few minutes before flight 5342’s landing, air traffic controllers asked the arriving commercial jet if it could land on the shorter Runway 33 at Reagan National and the pilots immediately confirmed they were able to do so.

Controllers then cleared the plane to land on Runway 33 and flight tracking sites showed the plane duly adjusted its approach to the new runway.

At the same time, a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk US Army helicopter that had departed from Fort Belvoir in Virginia entered the airspace around Reagan National Airport.

This is some of the most tightly controlled and monitored airspace in the world, just over three miles south of the White House and the Capitol.

All of the previous jets had made landings on the airport’s main runway, suggesting that the Black Hawk pilots may have expected the American Airlines flight to follow suit and may not have been aware of the change in flight path.

The helicopter was on a training flight, according to a US Army spokesperson, but no other details were provided.

Military aircraft frequently conduct training flights in and around the congested and heavily restricted airspace around the nation’s capital for familiarisation and continuity of government planning.

Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter, whose callsign was registered as PAT25, if it had the arriving plane in sight.

The controller made another radio call to the helicopter moments later at 8.47pm ET – minutes before the American Airlines flight was projected to make its landing.

‘PAT25 do you see a CRJ? PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ,’ the air traffic controller said.

Seconds later, the night sky above Washington DC was briefly illuminated by the fireball that erupted as the two aircraft collided.

The sickening crash occurred at an altitude of just 400ft and less than three kilometres from the runway.

American Airlines flight 5342 was travelling at a speed of 140mph when it smashed into the chopper.

Emergency response units assess airplane wreckage in the Potomac River

Emergency response units assess airplane wreckage in the Potomac River

The plane was being operated as an American Eagle Flight by PSA Airlines for its parent carrier American Airlines

The plane was being operated as an American Eagle Flight by PSA Airlines for its parent carrier American Airlines

A recording of air traffic control communications revealed the shocked reactions of controllers as they witnessed the crash unfold in real time.

Notable US commercial aircraft crashes

February 12, 2009: a Colgan Air Bombardier aircraft flying from New York to the small town of Buffalo crashes, killing the 49 passengers onboard.

January 15, 2009: a US Airways Airbus A320 carrying more than 150 people collides with a flock of birds before making a spectacular landing on the Hudson River in New York, thanks to the pilot’s exemplary actions.

August 27, 2006: a regional transport plane uses a wrong, unlit runway, rather than the designated one and crashes shortly after taking off from Lexington airport, Kentucky, killing around 50 people onboard.

December 19, 2005: a Grumman G-73T Mallard hydroplane operated by Ocean Airways, connecting Miami and an island in the Bahamas, crashes into the sea shortly after takeoff, killing both crew members and 18 passengers.

October 19, 2004: a BAE Jetstream 32 operated by AmericanConnection crashes near Kirksville, Missouri due to poor visibility. Both pilots and 11 out of the 13 passengers are killed.

January 8, 2003: a US Airways Beechcraft 1900, flying between Charlotte, North Carolina and Greenville, South Carolina, crashes into a hangar shortly after takeoff. Both pilots and the 19 passengers onboard are killed.

November 12, 2001: two months after the September 11 attacks, an American Airlines Airbus A-300, flying from New York to Saint-Domingue, crashes shortly after taking off from JFK airport. The 251 passengers and nine crew members are killed. On the ground, several houses are destroyed or damaged, and five residents killed.

January 13, 1982: an Air Florida Boeing 737-222 hits a bridge over the Potomac before crashing into the river just after takeoff during a snowstorm. The crash kills 78 people including four motorists who were on the bridge.

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‘Oh, oh my god! Tower, did you see that?’ one worker is heard exclaiming.

‘Crash, crash, crash, this is an alert three,’ one of the air traffic controllers can be heard saying in the audio from around the time of the crash.

‘I don’t know if you caught earlier what happened, but there was a collision on the approach into 33. We’re going to be shutting down operations for the indefinite future,’ another controller remarked.

‘Both the helicopter and the plane crashed in the river,’ a third air traffic controller can be heard saying.

‘It was probably out in the middle of the river,’ the controller said. 

‘I just saw a fireball and then it was just gone. I haven’t seen anything since they hit the river. But it was a CRJ and a helicopter that hit.’

In footage taken from the Kennedy Center, Washington’s cultural hub, the powerful lights of the descending airplane and the dimmer lights of another aircraft heading toward it can be seen until the fiery collision. 

The incident occurred on a relatively warm winter evening in Washington, with temperatures registering as high as 60 degrees Fahrenheit, following a stretch days earlier of intense cold and ice. 

But the Potomac River is still extremely frigid.

Hours before Wednesday’s crash, the water temperature was registered at 36 degrees Fahrenheit, just four degrees above freezing, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The National Weather Service reported that wind gusts of up to 25 mph were possible in the area throughout the evening, though this is not thought to have contributed to the collision. 

DC mobilised a huge rescue effort in the hours following the crash.

Some 300 first responders were on scene within minutes, deploying in a fleet of inflatable rescue boats launched into the Potomac River from a point along the George Washington Parkway, just north of the airport.

Other first responders set up light towers from the shore to illuminate the area near the collision site. 

At least a half-dozen boats were scanning the water using searchlights overnight.

‘It’s a highly complex operation,’ said D.C. fire chief John Donnelly. ‘The conditions out there are extremely rough for the responders.’

Emergency personnel work near the site of the crash after American Eagle flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter while approaching Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed into the Potomac River, outside Washington, U.S., January 30, 2025

Emergency personnel work near the site of the crash after American Eagle flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter while approaching Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed into the Potomac River, outside Washington, U.S., January 30, 2025

Emergency personnel work near the site of the crash after American Eagle flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter

Emergency personnel work near the site of the crash after American Eagle flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter

DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly speaks at a press conference with other government officials on the rescue efforts

DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly speaks at a press conference with other government officials on the rescue efforts

The horrific incident prompted harsh criticism, with President Donald Trump declaring the crash ‘should have been avoided’.

‘The plane was on a perfect approach path to the airport. The helicopter was heading directly toward the plane for some time. The night was clear, the lights of the plane were visible, why didn’t the helicopter climb or descend, or make a turn?’ he wrote.

‘Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane? This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!’

Meanwhile, aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas was ‘perplexed’, explaining that almost all passenger and military aircraft in the US are fitted with Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) – a standard issue software designed to prevent such incidents. 

‘Technically (the crash) should never have happened. It’s perplexing and tragic… these sorts of things don’t happen in the United States anymore,’ he told the BBC. 

The crash is serving as a major test for two of the Trump administration’s newest agency leaders. 

Pete Hegseth, sworn in days ago as defence secretary, posted on social media that an investigation has been ‘launched immediately’ by the Army and the Defence Department. 

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, just sworn in earlier this week, said at a sombre news conference at the airport early this morning that his agency would provide all possible resources to the investigation.

Reagan Airport will reopen at 11am ET on Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration announced. The FAA has previously said it would be closed until 5am Friday.