What happened
A regional American Airlines flight with 64 people aboard collided with an Army helicopter Wednesday night near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. The passenger jet, preparing to land after a nonstop flight from Wichita, Kansas, and the UH-60 Blackhawk both crashed into the frigid Potomac River. The Blackhawk, on a training flight from Fort Belvoir in Virginia, had a crew of three, the Army said.
Who said what
A massive search-and-rescue operation involving about 300 first responders had found “no survivors” as of late last night, and “police have pulled multiple bodies from the water,” The Washington Post said. The 60 passengers on American Eagle Flight 5342 included figure skaters, their coaches and family members returning from a development camp in Wichita; at least two of the skaters were Russian, the Kremlin said.
The Wichita area was “thrilled in January 2024 when American Airlines added a nonstop flight to Washington,” The New York Times said. But the D.C.-area lawmakers had warned that adding more flights could jeopardize safety at the busy airport, where “at least eight near-midair collisions” occurred last year, according to FAA data. The last major U.S. commercial airline crash was in 2009, near Buffalo.
What next?
Regan National will be closed until at least 11 a.m. Thursday. The National Transportation Safety Board will lead an investigation into the deadly collision.