Passenger plane collides with military helicopter, crashes near DC's Reagan Airport

By: Shawn
A regional plane operated by American Airlines Group Inc. crashed in midair with a military helicopter near Washington, DC, suspending operations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and triggering a search and rescue effort in the Potomac River.

Lights from emergency vehicles are seen as rescue personnel assemble along the Potomac River at Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC, following an air disaster on January 29, 2025. A passenger plane from Kansas crashed into Washington's Potomac River after colliding with a military helicopter near Reagan National Airport, officials said Wednesday, triggering a large rescue reaction and halting all flights.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

The jet, flown by subsidiary PSA Airlines, collided with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter as it approached Reagan Airport at 9 p.m. local time, according to a Federal Aviation Administration statement Wednesday night. The flight left from Wichita, Kansas.

Washington police said they have no immediate information about probable casualties.

"We don't yet know how many on board were lost, but we know there are fatalities," said Senator Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican who leads the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees the FAA.

The aircraft involved was a Mitsubishi CRJ-700 jet, which can seat 65 passengers and is often utilized for short excursions.

Reagan Airport has stopped all aircraft takeoffs and landings in reaction to the incident, according to a post on X.

The DC Fire and EMS Department Emergency teams say they are responding to various reports of an aircraft accident in the Potomac River near the airport.

American Airlines said it was aware of reports "that Flight 5342 has been involved in an accident," and that it would offer further information as it became available.

American Eagle is a network of six smaller carriers that serve the bigger airline, three of which are owned by American. 

PSA Airlines is the smallest of the three, with 130 aircraft and an average of 600 daily trips. It is based in Dayton, Ohio.

Reagan Airport is located in Arlington, Virginia, directly over the river from the nation's capital and south of the Pentagon.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that President Donald Trump is aware of the situation.

Tragically, a military helicopter looks to have crashed with a regional flight at DCA airport in Washington, DC. "That is all I can confirm at this time," she said. 

The crash brought up memories of an air disaster in January 1982, when an Air Florida Boeing Co. 737 fought for altitude after taking off with ice in its engines and wings, colliding with the 14th Street bridge and plunging into the frozen Potomac. Seventy-four passengers on board the plane were murdered, with another four on the ground.

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