An Army helicopter and an American Airlines passenger plane collided on Wednesday night near Reagan Washington National Airport. Officials say a recovery mission is underway for the 60 passengers and four crew members onboard the flight, and the three service members on the Black Hawk helicopter.
At least 28 bodies had been recovered by 8 a.m. Officials do not expect any survivors from the crash.
The commercial flight was en route to Washington, D.C. from Wichita, Kansas. It collided with an Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, which was on a training flight out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Here are five things to know.
How did the crash happen?
A federal investigation is underway to determine how the jet and helicopter collided.
The crash occurred as the plane was descending to the runway at National Airport around 9 p.m. National Airport is just outside of Washington D.C., where the airspace is more restricted than any other part of the U.S. The airport is just a few miles away from the White House and U.S. Capitol.
As the American Airlines flight was descending into the airport, air traffic controllers asked if it could land on a shorter runway and the pilots agreed, according to The Associated Press. Just before the crash, an air traffic controller asked the Army helicopter if it could see the plane and when it made another call moments later, the helicopter pilots didn’t reply.
What errors were made?
President Trump said that the crash “should have been prevented,” suggesting the commercial airplane wasn’t to blame for the Wednesday night collision.
“The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport,” he wrote on Truth Social. “The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time.”
“It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane,” he continued.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he thought the crash was “absolutely” preventable.
Additionally, Trump on Thursday said that he is “monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise.”
What do we know about the victims?
A recovery mission is underway for the 67 people on board the flight and helicopter.
About 300 emergency responders immediately launched a multi-agency search-and-rescue operation and officials said during a Thursday morning press conference that no survivors were expected, but nearly 30 bodies have been recovered so far.
The U.S. Figure Skating organization said that “several members” of its community were on board the flight, according to CNN. They were traveling from the National Development Camp in Wichita to Washington.
Russian-born figure skating world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were on the flight, the Kremlin confirmed on Thursday. They have lived in the U.S. since 1998, according to Reuters, and were traveling back with the young skaters they were coaching at the development camp.
What is the Pentagon’s role in the response?
Duffy said at Thursday morning’s press conference that both the Army helicopter and the American Airlines flight were flying at a standard pattern, and did not make any unusual moves.
The Department of Defense is also involved in an investigation, Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed on Wednesday.
“Absolutely tragic. Search and rescue efforts still ongoing. Prayers for all impacted souls, and their families. Investigation launched immediately by Army & DoD,” he said on X.
He shared in a video on Thursday that the helicopter crew was “fairly experienced” and was “doing a required, annual night evaluation” with night-vision goggles. Hegseth said that the 12th aviation battalion, which was involved in the crash, are on an operational pause for 48 hours and an investigation team is on the ground in Washington already.
What happens now at National Airport?
The air traffic controller on Wednesday night had requested the Black Hawk helicopter look out for the American Airlines jet and called for it to “pass behind the CRJ,” referring to a Canadair Regional Jet, just before the crash, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The airport closed for takeoffs and landings immediately after the collision and will reopen at 11 a.m. on Thursday.
The last plane to plummet into the Potomac River was Air Florida Flight 90 in 1982, which crashed into the 14th Street Bridge just after taking off at National Airport. That crash occurred on a snowy January day and was determined to be a pilot error.
And, it has been 12 years since a fatal crash of an airline jet, with the last occurring in July 2013 when an Asiana Airlines crash landed in San Francisco International Airport.
