By FOX News
Posted on 01/30/25
| News Source: FOX News
The regional jet carried 64 people, including 60 passengers and four crew members, while the Black Hawk had three U.S. soldiers on board. Among the passengers were several members of the U.S. Figure Skating team, returning home from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and National Development Camp.
Since the crash, hundreds of emergency responders have been working through the night in harsh conditions, battling high winds and strong currents as they search for victims and wreckage in the Potomac River. The U.S. Coast Guard, D.C. Fire and EMS, and multiple federal and local agencies are coordinating the massive recovery effort.
Officials have not yet confirmed the total number of casualties, though Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) stated that "there are fatalities." Recovery teams are focusing on retrieving bodies, securing debris, and investigating what went wrong.
Reagan National Airport was closed overnight but is now set to reopen at 11 a.m. Thursday, after the FAA initially projected a Friday morning reopening.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the Army and Pentagon launched an immediate investigation to determine what led to the crash. Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are leading the official probe into the sequence of events that caused the midair collision.
Audio recordings from Reagan National Airport’s air traffic control tower revealed that controllers warned the helicopter pilots about the approaching regional jet, instructing them to maintain visual separation. The Black Hawk pilots acknowledged the command, yet the aircraft still collided moments later.
President Donald Trump reacted to the disaster early Thursday morning, questioning how such a catastrophic accident could have happened.
"The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing—why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn? 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. NOT GOOD!!!"
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom expressed condolences and assured that the airline is fully cooperating with investigators. He confirmed that the company’s care team has been activated to assist families of the passengers and crew. A helpline has been set up for families seeking information at 1-800-679-8215.
In a heartbreaking development, several members of the U.S. Figure Skating community were confirmed to have been on board Flight 5342.
"We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available," U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement.
Authorities are now shifting from search-and-rescue to recovery and investigation. Investigators will analyze black box recordings, radar data, and air traffic communications to determine how the crash occurred and whether human error or equipment failure played a role.
For now, the nation watches and waits as rescue teams continue their painstaking work in the icy waters of the Potomac, hoping for answers—and closure for the victims’ families.