Search and rescue efforts were underway in the Potomac River after a passenger jet carrying 64 people collided with a Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers Wednesday night while trying to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport outside Washington, D.C.
A police official at the scene told CBS News there were three debris fields in the water and that at least 18 bodies had been recovered as of 11:30 p.m. ET. The official said no survivors had been found so far.
All flights at the airport were grounded for the night.
“A PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet collided in midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on approach to Runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 p.m. local time,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. The plane, operated by American Airlines, had taken off from Wichita, Kansas, the FAA said.
The plane, American Eagle Flight No. 5342, was carrying 60 passengers and four crewmembers, CBS News learned. PSA Airlines and American Eagle are subsidiaries of American Airlines.
In a statement provided to CBS News, American Airlines said that it was “aware of reports that American Eagle flight 5342, operated by PSA, with service from Wichita, Kansas (ICT) to Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) has been involved in an incident.”
Multiple sources and an Army official told CBS News that an Army Black Hawk was involved in the collision. The Army later confirmed the chopper was based out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Heather Chairez, a spokesperson for the Joint Task Force-National Capitol Region, told CBS News the helicopter was on a training flight. Chairez said the chopper belonged to the B Company, 12th Aviation Battalion. A Defense Department official told CBS News that three soldiers were aboard the Black Hawk helicopter, with no senior officials on board.
“The accident happened in the river,” a dispatcher said in scanner audio obtained from air traffic control. “Both the helicopter and the plane crashed in the river.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, speaking on Fox News, said that President Trump had “been made aware of the situation.”
Mr. Trump later said in a statement he had been “fully briefed on the terrible accident which just took place at Reagan National Airport. May God Bless their souls. Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders. I am monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise.”
A livestream camera at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., captured the moment of the collision. The video, which has been verified by CBS News, shows an explosion in the area of the Potomac River at 8:47 p.m.
The District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department reported in a social media post that a small aircraft crashed in the Potomac River in the “vicinity” of the airport.
The FBI told CBS News that as of now, the incident was not being treated as a criminal event.
The D.C. Police Department said in a statement that multiple agencies were “coordinating a search and rescue operation in the Potomac River.”
The airport also said in a post on X that all takeoffs and landings at DCA had been halted.
“Emergency personnel are responding to an aircraft incident on the airfield. The terminal remains open,” the airport said.
The Metropolitan Police Department said on social media it was assisting in the response.
The U.S. Park Police aviation unit was conducting search and rescue operations for the incident, the agency said.
Newly-confirmed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on social media that the Pentagon was “actively monitoring” the situation and “poised to assist if needed.”
The last major U.S. crash occurred in February 2009, when a United Airlines flight out of Newark, New Jersey, operated by Colgan Air crashed into a house as it was approaching the airport in Buffalo, New York. The crashed plane was a Bombardier Q400. Forty-nine people died in the tragedy.
