Officials do not believe there were any survivors from a Wednesday evening collision between a U.S. Army helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet over the Potomac River.
There were 64 people on board the American Airlines plane, which was landing in D.C. from Wichita, Kansas. Three Army personnel were on the helicopter. As of Thursday morning, officials said they had recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter.
There will likely be months of investigations ahead as Congress and agencies demand answers.
Sen. Ted Cruz, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, said he would receive a briefing from the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday. The National Transportation Safety Board is already investigating the crash with the FAA.
Trending
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Army and DOD have already launched an investigation, and President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that the incident was a “bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy — who was sworn in hours before the collision — said he’d spoken with Trump. He said the president was being briefed on the current situation on Thursday morning.
Recovery efforts will continue.
“The district office of the medical examiner has leaned on reuniting these bodies and these people with their loved ones, and we will continue to work to find all the bodies and collect them and reunite them with their loved ones,” said John Donnelly, Washington, D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services chief.
The Army helicopter was conducting a training flight out of Fort Belvoir, Hegseth posted on X. Defense officials have said that the Blackhawk flight did not have any military or civilian senior leaders.
Duffy said both the helicopter and the plane were flying in a “standard pattern.” When asked if the plane was aware there was a helicopter in the area, Duffy answered, “I would say the helicopter was aware that there was a plane in the area.”
The unit involved, the 12th Aviation Battalion, includes some of the Army’s “Gold Tops” aircraft meant to transport “Army’s senior leadership, selected DoD Officials, and Combatant Commanders.” The battalion’s official responsibilities include “defense support for civil authorities or homeland security operations, and to provide transportation,” according to the Congressional Research Service.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, or DCA, is home to the busiest runway in the United States, with lawmakers and other government officials regularly flying in and out of the District. The airspace around D.C. is the most restrictive airspace in the country.
Flights are expected to resume at DCA at 11 a.m. John Potter, CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, told reporters that “it’s been determined that we can open that airport safely.”
“All are comfortable that we can get back to operations,” Potter added. “Now, each airline will announce or communicate to their passengers what their operations are going to be.”
Officials said there was no indication that other aircraft were at risk.
“We have the safest airspace in the world,” Duffy said.
Rep. Don Beyer, whose district covers Northern Virginia, said that officials “at the federal level, and with the support of Virginia, Maryland, D.C.,” are committed to making “sure this does not happen again.”
—
Riley Rogerson and Oriana González are reporters at NOTUS. Kate Nocera is a managing editor at NOTUS.
Authors
