Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy provides details during an update on the midair collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter.
The tragic accident caused by a midair collision between a regional commercial airliner and a military helicopter in Washington, D.C., is the first fatal commercial air accident in nearly 15 years.
On Wednesday night, an American Airlines plane carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter with three crew members aboard while on approach to land at Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C.
Both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River, and emergency response officials have said they “don’t think there are any survivors from this accident” and shifted to a recovery operation. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the incident with assistance from the U.S. Army.
The disaster marks the first fatal commercial air crash in nearly 15 years, with U.S. airlines having transported about eight billion passengers in the period between accidents.
Emergency response units search the crash site of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after the plane crashed last night on approach to Reagan National Airport on Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images / Getty Images)
AMERICAN AIRLINES PLANE, ARMY HELICOPTER COLLIDE OUTSIDE REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT NEAR WASHINGTON DC
Here’s a look back at five of the most recent commercial disasters in U.S. aviation.
Workers and investigators clear debris from the scene of the plane crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 on Feb. 16, 2009, in Clarence, New York. (David Duprey-Pool/Getty Images / Getty Images)
On Feb. 12, 2009, Colgan Air (operating as Continental Connection) Flight 3407 experienced a stall while on final approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport in New York.
The regional airliner crashed, killing all 49 people aboard, as well as one person on the ground, after the aircraft hit a house. Investigators determined that the pilot’s response to the stall warning contributed to the crash, with fatigue possibly another factor.
PSA AIRLINES: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE CARRIER INVOLVED IN THE DC MIDAIR COLLISION
Investigators document the runway that Comair Flight 5191 attempted to depart from on Aug. 28, 2006, in Lexington, Kentucky. (Jamie Rhodes/Getty Images / Getty Images)
On Aug. 27, 2006, Comair Flight 5191 crashed while attempting to take off from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, after using an incorrect runway, which was too short to allow for the regional airliner to safely become airborne. The aircraft overran the end of the runway, killing all 47 passengers and two of the three crew members, with the plane’s first officer the lone survivor. Investigators attributed the crash to pilot error.
FIVE OF THE DEADLIEST US AIR DISASTERS
Firefighters work at the scene of an American Airlines crash in the Rockaway section of New York on Nov. 12, 2001. (Doug Kanter/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
On Nov. 12, 2001, American Airlines Flight 587 crashed after taking off from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, bound for the Dominican Republic, after it suffered a structural failure caused by pilot error and lost control.
The airliner crashed into the Belle Harbor neighborhood of Queens, New York, killing all 260 people aboard and causing five fatalities on the ground.
UNITED, DELTA ISSUE TRAVEL WAIVERS FOLLOWING AMERICAN AIRLINES MIDAIR COLLISION NEAR DC
Family members place roses and form a circle around the memorial dedicated to the 88 victims of the Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crash, dedicated at Hueneme Beach in Port Hueneme. (Bryan Chan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images / Getty Images)
On Jan. 31, 2000, Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crashed in the Pacific Ocean near Anacapa Island, California, while flying from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to Seattle with a stopover in San Francisco.
All 83 passengers and five crew members died in the accident. Investigators determined that improper maintenance caused the failure of a critical flight control system during the flight, resulting in the pilots losing control of the aircraft.
The wreckage of the front portion of the TWA Flight 800 Boeing 747 aircraft is displayed in its reconstructed state in November 1997 in Calverton, New York. (Jon Levy/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
On July 17, 1996, TWA Flight 800 crashed in the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, after departing John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, bound for Rome via a stopover in Paris.
All 212 passengers and 18 crew members were killed in the crash. Investigators determined that the aircraft suffered a structural breakup while in flight due to an explosion in its center fuel tank that was most likely caused by a short circuit.
