John Jefferson
An estimated 67 people are presumed dead after a Black Hawk helicopter collided with a commercial American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday evening.
A total of 64 people, including four staff members, were aboard passenger American Airlines Flight 5342, and three soldiers were on the Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk that came from Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
AMERICAN AIRLINES PLANE, ARMY HELICOPTER COLLIDE OUTSIDE REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT NEAR WASHINGTON DC
Here is a timeline of events leading up to and immediately after the Wednesday night crash:
Jan. 29
5:18 p.m. CST
AA Flight 5342 departs Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (ITC) for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) at 5:18 p.m. CST, or 6:18 p.m. EST, according to air traffic control records from FlightRadar24.
8:39 p.m. EST
An Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter departs Fort Belvoir as part of a training exercise. An senior Army official told Fox News the soldiers were part of a “fairly experienced” Black Hawk crew, and they had night vision goggles aboard the helicopter.
8:40 p.m. EST
Flight 5342 began to descend into DCA from the south.
DC PLANE CRASH AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL AUDIO REVEALS MOMENT CONTROLLERS SAW DISASTER: ‘TOWER DID YOU SEE THAT?’
8:46 p.m.
Air traffic controllers ask Flight 5342 to land on Runway 33, and pilots acknowledge the order.
ATC AUDIO:
8:48 p.m. EST
An air traffic control official asks the Black Hawk (PAT-25) pilot whether he can see the commercial aircraft.
“Do you have the CRJ in sight?” the controller asks, and the helicopter pilot confirms he sees the passenger plane and requests “visual separation,” meaning he is trying to get out of the flight’s path, according to FlightRadar24 audio.
“PAT-25, do you have the CRJ in sight?” the controller can be heard saying to the helicopter pilot 30 seconds before the crash.
The controller makes another radio call to PAT-25 moments later: “PAT-25, pass behind the CRJ.”
ATC AUDIO REVEALS MOMENT CONTROLLERS SAW DISASTER:
8:48 p.m. EST
Army UH-60 and Flight 5342 then collide over the Potomac River, causing an explosion midair at an altitude of about 300 feet that was caught on camera.
Air traffic controllers can be heard reacting, and asking, “Did you see that?”
8:53 p.m. EST
The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) receives phone calls reporting a plane crash over the Potomac.
REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT CRASH: MILITARY BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER COLLIDES MIDAIR WITH AMERICAN AIRLINES JET
MPD, D.C. Fire and EMS, and “multiple partner agencies” begin coordinating a search and rescue operation.
9:00 p.m. EST
DCA closes due to an “aircraft emergency.”
9:09 p.m. EST
The DC Fire and EMS Department posts an update on X stating, “Confirmed small aircraft down in Potomac River vicinity Reagan National Airport. Fireboats on scene.”
10:51 p.m. EST
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posts a statement from President Donald Trump to X.
“I have 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,” the statement reads.
12:30 a.m. EST
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser holds a press conference with other law enforcement personnel and announces that a passenger aircraft collided with a military aircraft.
DC Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly announces that officials “have recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter.”
“Despite all these efforts, we are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” Donnelly says.
Jan. 30
8:30 a.m. EST
Officials hold a press conference in Washington, D.C., saying all 67 passengers, crew members and soldiers on board both aircraft are presumed dead.
“We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” Donnelly says during the briefing. “We don’t believe there are any survivors.”
11:00 a.m. EST
Flights resume landing at DCA; the first aircraft lands at the airport at 11:02 a.m.
A Department of Homeland Security source told Fox News Digital on Thursday morning that there are “no terror concerns” after the collision, and officials suspect the crash was “just a tragedy.”
Prior to the deadly collision, there had been a military aircraft-involved crash in Alaska on Tuesday. Officials said a U.S. Air Force F-35 fighter jet crashed in Alaska after the pilot managed to safely eject from the aircraft.
There have been at least 238 deaths and 227 injuries stemming from non-combat U.S. military aircraft crashes since 2012, according to the FAA.
There have also been multiple “close call” incidents at DCA since 2023.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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