American Airlines jet, military helicopter collide over Potomac near Reagan National

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A view shows Reagan Washington National Airport, as seen from Arlington, after American Eagle flight 5342 collided with a helicopter while approaching Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed in the Potomac River, Virginia, U.S. January 29, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

An American Airlines passenger plane that departed from Wichita, Kansas, and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided near Reagan National Airport on Wednesday evening and crashed into the Potomac River, according to law enforcement, a statement from the airline and people familiar with the incident.

Police have pulled multiple bodies from the water of people apparently killed, according to people familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the incident. Fireboats were reported on the scene.

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) said on X that “roughly 60 passengers” were on board the plane.

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At least three U.S. soldiers were on the helicopter at the time of the collision, a senior defense official said. No senior U.S. leaders were aboard the Black Hawk helicopter at the time, the official added.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the airport has been closed due to an emergency, and flights scheduled to land at Reagan National were being diverted to Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport.

A D.C. official familiar with the emergency response to the crash said rescue workers have pulled bodies out of the water and are bringing them to the police department’s air support base near the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they had not been authorized to speak about the situation, did not provide casualty numbers. The official said there has been no successful rescues as of 10:30 p.m., meaning no one found alive.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News that President Donald Trump has “been made aware” of the crash and confirmed that a military helicopter had collided with a regional jet.

The crash is likely to renew debate over safety at Reagan National Airport. Last year, as part of legislation to fund the FAA, Congress added five additional round-trip flights at National. The decision came over the objections of members of the D.C.-area congressional delegation, who have long argued that the airport is at capacity and that adding more flights could compromise its ability to operate safely.

The crash Wednesday night comes after a string of close calls at Reagan National Airport and other airports, beginning in early 2023, that had alarmed officials and the airline industry.

In May 2024, an American Airlines flight aborted a takeoff at National Airport after it was at risk of colliding with a private jet. There had been a similar incident the previous month involving a Southwest Airlines plane and a JetBlue Airways flight.

The FAA views close calls as a sign that the aviation system is under stress and gathered industry leaders early in 2023 to begin trying to address the problem.

The agency planned to install new technology to help warn air traffic controllers when aircraft were at risk of collision. It also took steps to boost hiring and to address complaints of fatigue among controllers.