A commercial jet from American Airlines’ regional fleet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed into each other mid-flight on Wednesday night, plummeting into the Potomac River in proximity to Reagan National Airport in Washington, officials stated, as reported by Reuters.
According to The Washington Post, multiple casualties were retrieved from the river.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz announced via social media: “Casualties have been confirmed,” without providing specific numbers, Reuters noted.
A source within American Airlines informed Reuters that the plane was transporting 60 passengers plus a crew of four, including two pilots. Additionally, a military spokesperson verified that the helicopter had three military personnel aboard, as stated by Reuters.
Video footage from a Kennedy Center webcam in Washington captured an aerial explosion above the Potomac at 8:47 PM local time, showing a flaming aircraft descending rapidly.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that the collision involved an American Airlines flight 5342, operated by PSA Airlines. The aircraft, traveling from Wichita, Kansas, was preparing to land at Reagan Airport when it collided with the military aircraft.
Emergency response teams were immediately dispatched, involving multiple government organizations. “Extensive resources have been activated to locate potential survivors and maintain site security,” a local law enforcement representative stated, according to Reuters.
Multiple emergency vehicles, medical response units, and rescue boats converged on the crash location, illuminating the Potomac waters with emergency lights, Reuters detailed.
Reagan Airport immediately halted all flight operations. American Airlines released a statement acknowledging that “American Eagle flight 5342, operated by PSA, was involved in an incident” and indicated further updates would follow.
NBC reported that rescue teams successfully retrieved four survivors from the Potomac, though the complete casualty count remains unconfirmed.
This incident occurs amid heightened scrutiny of U.S. aviation safety. Despite no fatal commercial airline accidents since February 2009, increasing reports of near-misses in recent years have exposed vulnerabilities in air traffic management, partially due to persistent staffing shortages.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has initiated an investigation to identify the precise causes of this incident, Reuters reported.