Wednesday, February 19, 2025

January 30, 2025

Passenger Plane With 64 Onboard Collides With Black Hawk Helicopter In Washington DC [Video]

The US Federal Aviation Administration has confirmed that the plane was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members when it collided with the Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night.

[Image: HarrySisson / X]

Social media has been flooded with CCTV footage of an American Airlines flight operated by PSA colliding with a military helicopter as it was approaching Reagan Washington National Airport.

The US Federal Aviation Administration has confirmed that the aeroplane was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members when it collided with the Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night. The helicopter was carrying 3 soldiers.

Ambulances and other rescue workers including from the military, the park police and the DC metropolitan police department rushed to the scene, where Dozens of firefighters were “engaged in dive operations” on the Potomac River.

Meanwhile, news outlets in the country were showing grainy CCTV footage that appeared to show the collision and a fireball crashing into the river.

President Donald Trump said he had been briefed on the “terrible accident” and praised the “incredible work” done by emergency services, while at the same time pointing fingers.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “NOT GOOD!!! Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane? This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented,”

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom has also released a statement on the collision, saying: “Our concern is for the passengers and crew on board the aircraft. We are in contact with authorities and assisting with emergency response efforts.”

A few minutes before landing, air traffic controllers asked the incoming plane if it could land on a shorter runway at Reagan National, Associated Press reports. The pilots said they could and controllers cleared the plane to land on Runway 33 – with flight tracking sites showing the jet adjusted its approach.

Less than 30 seconds before the collision, one controller asked the helicopter if it could see the plane. The controller then made another call to the helicopter just moments later, saying: “PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ.”

Seconds later, they crashed.

Sky News reported that “at least 18 bodies have been recovered”, while NBC reported that four people had been pulled alive from the Potomac.

[Source: Guardian]