A regional passenger plane from Kansas crashed into Washington’s chilly Potomac River after colliding mid-air with a military helicopter near Reagan National Airport on Wednesday, officials said, prompting a major emergency response and grounding of all flights.
There was no immediate official information about casualties or how many people were aboard the jet.
However, the plane involved, a Bombardier regional jet, can carry about 78 passengers.
Kansas Senator Roger Marshall said on X that it was “carrying roughly 60 passengers.” It was not clear where he obtained the information.
A US Army official said the helicopter was a Black Hawk model carrying three soldiers as crew aboard — their status currently unknown.
The Washington Post quoted unnamed sources saying that police had started to pull multiple bodies from the Potomac.
Witness Ari Schulman described “a stream of sparks” and what looked like a large firework when the nighttime collision erupted overhead as he drove home.
“Initially I saw the plane and it looked fine, normal. It was right about to head over land,” he told CNN. “Three seconds later and at that point it was banked all the way to the right… I could see the underside of it, it was lit up a very bright yellow, and there was a stream of sparks underneath it. It looked like a Roman candle.”
President Donald Trump said he had been “fully briefed” and said of any victims, “may God bless their souls.”
– Dark, near-freezing river –
The Federal Aviation Authority ordered the grounding of all planes at Reagan airport, and Washington’s police said on X that “multiple agencies” were responding to the crash site in the Potomac.
Police said fireboats had joined the operation on the Potomac River, where any work was complicated by the fact it was dark and close to freezing. Dozens of fire trucks could be seen headed toward the airport.
The FAA said a Bombardier regional jet operated by American Airlines subsidiary PSA Airlines “collided in midair” with a Sikorsky UH-60 helicopter as it approached for landing at Reagan at around 9:00 pm (0200 GMT). The plane had left from Wichita, Kansas.
On its website, American Airlines said in a statement: “We’re aware of reports that American Eagle flight 5342, operated by PSA, with service from Wichita, Kansas (ICT) to Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) has been involved in an incident. We will provide information as it becomes available.”
Washington police said “there is no confirmed information on casualties at this time.”
Marshall, the Kansas senator, described the collision as “nothing short of a nightmare.”
“I ask the world to join me in praying for Kansas this evening, the first responders, rescue crews, and all those involved in this horrific accident,” he wrote on X. “I have been in contact with local and national authorities asking for answers and will continue to demand more information on how this unfolded.”