American Airlines plane collides with helicopter near Washington airport, at least 19 bodies retrieved from river

american airlines jet

American Airlines plane & helicopter crash into river following collision

An American Airlines plane collided with a United States Army Black Hawk helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. around 9pm local time on Wednesday (29 Jan).

Following the collision, both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River.

A livestream camera in the US capital reportedly captured the moment the two aircraft merged into a fireball.

american airlines jet

Source: @SumitHansd on X

American Airlines plane had 64 people on board

American Airlines confirmed on X that flight AA5342, which was travelling from Wichita, Kansas to Washington, was involved in an accident at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

It was carrying 60 passengers and four cabin crew, said a statement from the airline.

Passengers included a group of figure skaters, their coaches and family members who were returning from a development camp, reported the Associated Press (AP).

As for the helicopter, three soldiers were on board, a US Army official was quoted as saying.

The helicopter involved was said to be a Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk which was on a training flight and had belonged to B Company, 12th Aviation Battalion out of Fort Belvoir in Virginia, according to CBS News.

Police boats & helicopters join search for survivors

After the collision, police boats and dive teams were deployed to the site to search for survivors using searchlights.

Helicopters from law enforcement agencies flew overhead to assist with the search.

All take-offs and landings from the airport were halted as the rescue operation took place.

At least 19 bodies retrieved from river so far

At least 19 bodies have been retrieved from the river, CBS said. Two sources informed Reuters that multiple bodies had been pulled from the water.

No survivors have been discovered yet, with the exact death toll has yet to be confirmed.

At a sombre news conference at the airport on Thursday (30 Jan) morning, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser pledged to recover her fellow citizens but declined to reveal how many bodies had been found.

Trump questions why helicopter crew didn’t avoid American Airlines plane

President Donald Trump said he had been fully briefed on the accident.

“May God Bless their souls,” he was quoted by CBS as saying, adding:

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.

He also wrote a post on social media platform Truth Social, appearing to blame the helicopter crew and air traffic controllers for the incident.

american airlines jet

Source: Truth Social

Newly approved Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on social media that the Pentagon was closely monitoring the situation and “poised to assist if needed”.

Also read: Azerbaijan Airlines plane with 67 on board crashes in Kazakhstan, more than 30 feared dead

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Featured image adapted from NBC Washington and Associated Press (AP).

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