No survivors in American Airways collision with the helicopter of the military, say officers

Part of the debris will be searched as a rescue boat on January 30, 2025 after an aircraft on the approach to Reagan National Airport with a Black Hawk helicopter of the US Army and is waiting for the river near Washington, DC, as a lifebar part of the wreck can be viewed. On January 29, 2025.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty pictures

After one there were no survivors American airlines The regional jet with 64 people on board collided on Wednesday evening at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport with a Black Hawk military helicopter before the aircraft on Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was landed in Washington. The accident was the worst air disaster on the US floor since 2001.

Hundreds of first aiders switch from the rescue efforts to a recovery surgery, Washington DCS fire brigade and Ems boss John Donnelly said on Thursday morning in a press conference. Donnelly said at least 28 corpses have been recovered: 27 from the jet and one from the helicopter.

Both aircraft plunged into the icy water of the Potomac River. First aiders, including divers, worked overnight to try to recover victims, and fought against choppy, icy waters and strong winds.

Sixty passengers and four crew members were on board the American flight. Three people were on board the military helicopter, said an official.

American Eagle Flight 5342, a PSA airline Bombardier CRJ700 Regional Jetliner, was on the airport 33 catwalk with an H-60 ​​helicopter from Sikorsky at 9 p.m. ET, said the FAA. The flight came from Wichita, Kansas, and flew, according to Flighttradar24, at a height of about 300 feet at the time of the collision.

PSA Airlines is a subsidiary of American Airlines and one of its regional airlines. American Eagle is how the airline marketed its regional flights.

Part of the wreck is viewed as a rescue teams in the waters of the Potomac River after a passenger aircraft on the Reagan National Airport approach on January 30, 2025, falled into the river after it with a helicopter of the US Army near Washington, DC, had collapsed.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty pictures

The transport secretary Sean Duffy, two days after the start of work, said that the Jetliner of the American Airlines was in three sections in Potomac.

The accident gives President Donald Trump a crisis in less than two weeks after his new term when the accident ends the more than decades of the country's route without a fatal commercial passenger crash.

“Anyone who flies in the American sky expects we to fly safely that when you leave an airport, you will reach your destination,” Duffy said in a press conference on Thursday. “This didn't happen last night, and I know the President Trump, his administration, the FAA, the point, you will only rest until we have answers to the family and for the flying public.”

Duffy said he found the accident avoidable.

A helicopter flies near the fall of the aircraft American Airlines on the Potomac River after the aircraft crashed to the Reagan National Airport on January 30, 2025.

Andrew Harnik | Getty pictures

Robert Isom, CEO of American Airlines, traveled to Washington, DC on Wednesday evening.

“I would like to express my sincere condolences for the accident that happened last night. Were absolutely broken for the family members,” he said at the same press conference. “We are currently focusing on supporting everyone involved and the PSA Airlines team.”

He said the American flight was the final approach and “at this point we do not know why the military aircraft came on the way of the PSA aircraft.”

Isom said the captain of the American Eagle flight had about six years with PSA and the first officer for about two years. The plane was on a “standard” approach, he added. “It's all I can say.”

The airline provided contact information if “you believe that you have relatives on board the flight 5342”.

According to the official groups of the federal states, the American and Russian figures were on board on board the flight.

Reagan Washington National was closed on Wednesday evening and was to be opened on Thursday at 11 a.m. Officials said airlines said all schedule changes to passengers.

A flight information authority shows canceled flights to the Reagan National Airport when the rescue boats searched in the waters of the Potomac River after an aircraft crashed on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia, when the Reagan National Airport approached.

Kayla Bartkowski | Getty Images News | Getty pictures

The airport says that its main street is the most busy in the country.

The United States had a long route without a fatal trading airline. The last US Commercial passenger airline occurred in February 2009 when the Continental Flight 3407 fell into a house when he arrived in Buffalo, New York and killed all 49 people on the ground.

The crash of this turboprop aircraft prompted the federal regulations that required more calm and training for pilots.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board examine the accident on Wednesday.

Trump said he was informed about the accident on Wednesday.

“Thank you for the incredible work that our first aiders did,” he said in an explanation.

Emergency staff near the crash, with the US Capitol collided with a Black Hawk helicopter in the background after the American Eagle flight 5342, while he approached the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and on January 30, 2025 in the Potomac River, USA, crashed.

Nathan Howard | Reuters

The Federal Aviation Administration has no constant head. Former administrator Mike Whitaker resigned on January 20 when Trump took up his office. Trump has not yet named a candidate.

“We are shocked and sad about the tragic accident at DCA tonight,” said Air Line Pilots Association, a pilot union. “Our thoughts are with those affected by this tragedy, and Alpa's accident investigation team reacts to support the national transportation Safety board in his investigation.”

This story develops. Please check for updates.

Correction: An earlier heading in this story has been updated to correct a typographic error.