No survivors are expected in Washington, D.C., after an American Airlines passenger jet collided mid-air with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night.
The incident involved American Airlines Flight 5342, with 60 passengers and four crew members onboard. The plane was traveling to D.C. from Wichita, Kansas, where several of the passengers were competing in the US Figure Skating Championships.
The helicopter was carrying three soldiers at the time of the collision.
During a press conference on Monday morning, D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said search and rescue efforts are being transitioned to recovery efforts, as none are believed to have survived.
“We are now at a point where we’re switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident,” he said in a Thursday morning news conference.
The crash occurred late Wednesday night during Flight 5342’s descent to the airport as it prepared for landing.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy shared on Thursday that the American Airlines jet and the military helicopter were on a “standard flight pattern” when they collided.
“This was a clear night last night; the helicopter was in the standard pattern. If you live in the D.C. area, you will see helicopters up and down the river,” he said during a news conference. “This was a standard fight pattern last night as well.”
“The American Airline flight coming in to land was in a standard flight pattern as it was coming into DCA, so this was not unusual with a military aircraft flying the river and aircraft landing at DCA,” Duffy said.
Video of the crash has been shared on social media, showing a fireball appearing in the air as the two aircraft collided.
After the crash, the plane and helicopter fell into the Potomac River, where search and rescue efforts are ongoing to find any possible survivors. Officials have confirmed fatalities as a result of the crash but have not shared how many have lost their lives so far.
Sports analyst Christine Brennan shared that the figure skating community is also reeling from the tragedy, saying they would have expected to see many of the youth skaters on the flight “bubble to the surface, rise up and compete moving forward, even to the 2030 Olympic Games.”
“We don’t yet have numbers, and, of course, we’re not going to give any names out at this point,” Brennan said. “But it appears to look like coaches, young skaters, family members – and it could be quite a large number.”
The US Figure Skating Championships has also released a statement, sharing that a vigil is planned in Wichita on Thursday at noon.
“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts,” the organization said, CNN reported. “We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available.”
President Trump has also commented on the crash, questioning in a post on Truth Social what went wrong as he said it was a “clear night.”
“The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn,” the president wrote. “Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane. This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!”
“What a terrible night this has been. God bless you all!” he added in another.