2025 Potomac River mid-air collision

On January 29, 2025, a mid-air collision occurred when American Airlines Flight 5342, a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport in Kansas to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport near Washington, D.C., collided in a mid-air with a United States Army Sikorsky VH-60M Black Hawk helicopter. All 67 people on two aircrafts (64 on American Airlines Flight 5342; Bombardier CRJ700 series and 3 Priority Air Transport 25; Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk) died in the crash.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

2025 Potomac River mid-air collision

EarthCam footage of the collision and crash, taken from the Kennedy Center, looking southeast
Accident
Date	January 29, 2025 (2025-01-29)
Summary	Mid-air collision, under investigation
Site	Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington, D.C., United States 38°50′43.220″N 77°1′27.073″W
Total fatalities	67
Total survivors	0
First aircraft
The aircraft involved in the accident, photographed in 2022
Type	Bombardier CRJ701ER
Operator	PSA Airlines dba American Eagle
IATA flight No.	AA5342
ICAO flight No.	JIA5342
Call sign	BLUE STREAK 5342
Registration	N709PS
Flight origin	Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, Wichita, Kansas, United States
Destination	Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Arlington County, Virginia, United States
Occupants	64
Passengers	60
Crew	4
Fatalities	64
Survivors	0
Second aircraft
The aircraft involved
Type	Sikorsky VH-60M Black Hawk
Operator	United States Army 12th Aviation Battalion
Call sign	PAT25
Registration	00-26860
Flight origin	Davison Army Airfield, Fort Belvoir, Fairfax County, Virginia, United States[better source needed]
Occupants	3
Crew	3
Fatalities	3
Survivors	0

This accident was the first fatal crash involving American Airlines since the crash of Flight 587 on November 12, 2001.^[6] This accident was also the first fatal crash for a commercial airline on to have occurred in the United States since PenAir Flight 3296 in 2019.

Accident

Less than 30 seconds before the collision, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter crew whether they had Flight 5342 in sight. A crew member replied that they could see the airliner, and requested "visual separation" from the plane; this was approved by the controllers.^[7][8] A few seconds before the collision, the air traffic controller ordered the helicopter to pass behind Flight 5342.^[7][9]

At 8:48 p.m. EST, Flight 5342 collided with the Black Hawk, which exploded, then crashed into the middle of the Potomac River. Flight 5342's radio transponder ceased transmitting about 2,400 ft (730 m) short of runway 33.^[7][9] The incident was captured by a webcam at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.^[10] Another video shows a brief trail of fire.^[11] The CRJ700 "split in half" in the river, while the helicopter crashed in the river upside down and near the crashed plane.^[12]

A pilot in an uninvolved aircraft confirmed seeing the crash to an air traffic controller, and reported seeing flares from the side of the Potomac opposite to them as they were on short final.

Victims

Within hours, law enforcement officials and sources confirmed deaths.^[13][14] On February 4, officials confirmed all 67 bodies were found.^[15]