Emergency vehicles leave Gravelly Point, after a plane collided with a helicopter while approaching Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed in the Potomac River, in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. January 29, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz© provided by RawStory
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A regional jet operated by American Airlines and carrying about 60 passengers reportedly collided mid-air with a Blackhawk helicopter near the Potomac River on Wednesday night, causing the nearby Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, to shut down, and promoting a massive response.
Video circulating social media appeared to show an explosion in the air over the river.
Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that “tragically it appears a military helicopter collided with a regional jet at DCA airport right here in Washington, D.C.”
Local fire and emergency medical officials say fireboats were at the scene of the crash. The Metropolitan Police Department said there were no confirmed casualties.
No senior army personnel were on the helicopter, an Army official told The New York Times.
American Airlines confirmed to the Washington Post that American Eagle Flight 5342 operated by PSA Airlines was involved in the “incident.” The flight departed Wichita in Kansas, was headed for Reagan National Airport.
The airport was closed until 11 p.m. “due to an aircraft emergency,” the Federal Aviation Agency said on its website.
All flights were under a ground stop while first responders raced to the crash. Airport terminals were reportedly open.
Witness Ari Schulman told CNN he was looking at a line of planes coming into the airport to land as he drove home.
“I looked off and initially I saw the plane. It looked fine. It looked normal,” he said.
When he looked back again, “I could see the underside of it. It was lit up bright yellow.”
He said the plane appeared to bank at an angle that it “shouldn’t bank” — and “lit up like a Roman candle.”
CNN correspondent Pete Muntean said the airline confirmed the plane carried 60 people and four crew.
“Very likely it was a full flight,” he said on air.
