Passenger Plane, U.S. Army Helicopter Collide Near Reagan

A passenger plane has crashed into the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport outside Washington, CNN reports. All takeoffs and landings have been halted, the airport reports. The plane belonged to American Airlines and collided with a military Black Hawk helicopter, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, NBC reports.

No survivors have been found, 67 persons on board of the two aircraft, 64 on board of American Airlines plane and 3 in the helicopter. Search and rescue teams have recovered the bodies of those who died in the crash, NBC Washington reported, citing two sources close to the recovery teams. Officials have not yet specified the number of victims.

About 300 people are currently working on search and rescue operations on the Potomac River, DC Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly Sr. said at a news conference at Reagan National Airport, CNN reports. “At 8:58 p.m., the first units arrived on scene and found an airplane in the water and began rescue operations,” he said. An alert was first issued at 8:48 p.m., he said. Donnelly described the conditions as dark, cold and windy.

The first hypothesis regarding the plane crash circulated on the X network, where it is stated, in a post, that the military Black Hawk helicopter that collided with the passenger plane was flying on a covert mission. The helicopter was NOT emitting an ADSB signal at that time. ADSB is an advanced surveillance system that allows aircraft to transmit their position, altitude, airspeed and other vital information to air traffic controllers and other aircraft in real time.

For example, in order to view an aircraft on Flightradar24, it must have an ADS-B transponder, which works in conjunction with GPS and transmits a signal containing position, speed, and other flight data, which are received by a receiver connected to Flightradar24 in real time. To date, approximately 60% of aircraft are equipped with ADS-B, according to Flightradar24.

The crash of an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. military Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport in Washington highlighted the problems with the congested airspace shared by civilian and military aircraft over the U.S. capital, Reuters reports. The fact that a commercial airliner and a military helicopter collided over Washington on Wednesday should not be entirely surprising.

Military helicopters are a common sight in the Washington region, which is home to numerous military bases. In a three-year period from 2016 to 2019, there were 88,000 helicopter flights within a 30-mile radius of Reagan National Airport, including about 33,000 military flights and 18,000 law enforcement flights, according to an official government report from 2021.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Thursday that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would “take appropriate action, if necessary, to modify flight paths” and ensure adequate separation between civilian aircraft and military helicopters.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also said the Army and the Department of Defense have launched an investigation.