The Army helicopter and the American Airlines regional jet that collided over Washington are work aircraft that operate daily around the world. The Bombardier CRJ700 was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, authorities reported. Three Army personnel were on a training flight in the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.
According to the authorities' report this Thursday afternoon, there are no survivors of the accident that occurred Wednesday night in the icy Potomac River.
This is what is known so far about the serious plane crash:
The accident
The collision occurred around 9 p.m. on Wednesday in one of the most controlled airspaces in the world, just over 3 miles (5 kilometers) south of the White House and the United States Capitol. A massive search and rescue operation initiated overnight turned into a recovery operation by mid-morning on Thursday.
The collision involved a regional jet from Wichita, Kansas, preparing to land, and a military helicopter conducting a training exercise, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
A few minutes before landing, air traffic controllers asked American Airlines flight 5342 if it could land on a shorter runway, to which the pilots agreed. The controllers authorized the landing, and flight tracking websites showed that the plane adjusted its approach to the new runway.
Less than 30 seconds before the collision, an air traffic controller asked a helicopter if it had the arriving plane in sight. Moments later, the controller made another radio call to the helicopter saying: "PAT 25, pass behind the CRJ", apparently indicating to wait for the two-engine Bombardier CRJ-701 jet to pass. There was no response. Seconds later, the aircraft collided.
The airplane fuselage was found upside down and divided into three sections in shallow waters, as reported by authorities. The helicopter wreckage was also found.
Controversial statement by Donald Trump
At a press conference at the White House, Donald Trump said there were no survivors, the cause of the collision was unclear, and the military and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating. Without evidence, he blamed air traffic controllers, helicopter pilots, and Democratic policies in federal agencies.
Trump criticized the diversity hiring efforts at the FAA, but when pressed to explain why, he admitted that there was no evidence that it was related to the collision. "It could have just been," he said.
The victims
At least 28 bodies have been recovered from the cold waters.
Among the passengers were members of the Skating Club of Boston, who were returning from the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita. Among them were teenage skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane, both mothers, and two renowned coaches born in Russia, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the world pairs skating championship in 1994.
Other Russian citizens were also on board the jet, according to the Kremlin.
The CEO of the Skating Club of Boston, Doug Zeghibe, said on Thursday that a total of 14 victims of the accident were returning from a camp for promising young skaters after the national championship.
The three soldiers traveling in the helicopter were conducting an annual night training flight, reported Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who added that they were a "crew with quite a bit of experience."
The airport
Located along the Potomac River, southwest of Washington, Reagan National Airport is a popular choice due to its proximity to the city compared to the larger Dulles International Airport.
The accident occurred amid growing concerns from federal authorities and aviation experts about the increase in risk incidents among airplanes. In May, at Reagan National Airport, an American Airlines plane taxiing on the runway aborted its takeoff to avoid colliding with another aircraft landing on an intersecting runway.
Aircraft
The helicopter was a UH-60 Blackhawk based in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, according to the Army.
There are around 5,000 Black Hawks in use worldwide, according to the aviation website FlightGlobal.com.
The aircraft involved in Wednesday's collision was an Army version. There are other variants manufactured for the Navy, the Air Force, and the Coast Guard, as well as for specialized functions like intelligence gathering.
The plane was a Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine, manufactured in Canada. The CRJ program was sold in June 2020 to the Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which no longer manufactures them, but continues to produce spare parts.
There are several versions of the twin-engine aircraft, capable of carrying between 68 and 78 passengers. It is a regional plane commonly used for medium and short flights.
The plane in Wednesday's accident was registered as N709PS and was manufactured in 2004. The jet was operated by PSA Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines.
History of fatal airplane accidents
The last major commercial airplane accident in the United States occurred in 2009, near Buffalo, New York. The 45 passengers and four crew members died when a Bombardier DHC-8 propeller plane crashed into a house. One person on the ground also died.
In November 2001, an American Airlines flight crashed into a residential area in Belle Harbor, New York, shortly after taking off from Kennedy Airport, causing the death of the 260 people on board.
The collision on Wednesday recalled the Air Florida flight accident, which crashed into the Potomac River on January 13, 1982 due to bad weather, resulting in the death of 78 people.