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On the evening of January 29, 2025, a PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ701ER, operating as American Eagle Flight 5342, collided midair with a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. All 67 individuals aboard both aircraft perished in the accident.
Flight 5342 had departed from Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport in Kansas, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members. The U.S. Army helicopter, originating from Davison Army Airfield in Virginia, had three military personnel on board. The collision occurred as the commercial jet was on its final approach to Reagan National Airport.
Following the collision, both aircraft plummeted into the Potomac River, resulting in a fiery explosion. Emergency responders from multiple agencies, including the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department and Maryland State Police, were dispatched to the scene. Rescue efforts were severely hampered by adverse conditions such as cold temperatures, strong winds, and murky waters. As of the latest reports, 28 bodies have been recovered, with ongoing efforts to locate the remaining victims.
In the wake of the accident, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport suspended all takeoffs and landings, diverting flights to nearby airports including Dulles International Airport and Baltimore/Washington International Airport. The airport is expected to remain closed until at least 11:00 a.m. on January 30.
At a White House briefing, President Trump addressed the fatal midair collision, criticizing the helicopter pilots and suggesting that air traffic controllers might have been at fault.
“We don’t have all the answers yet, but we have some very strong ideas about what happened,” he said.
According to recorded radio communications, air traffic controllers had warned the helicopter about the incoming jet and instructed it to alter its course. However, it is unclear whether the crew received or acted on the directive before the crash.
Trump also blamed former President Joe Biden for allegedly lowering hiring standards in federal agencies, implying that diversity initiatives within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) might have compromised air traffic control operations. When asked directly if diversity hiring contributed to the accident, he responded, “It just could have been.”
So far, the Trump administration has not provided any evidence to support these claims. Aviation officials maintain that efforts to create a more inclusive workforce have not affected safety standards, and there is no indication that hiring policies played a role in the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), U.S. Department of Defense, and U.S. Army have initiated investigations into the cause of the collision. President Donald Trump expressed his condolences, stating, “May God Bless their souls,” and emphasized the need to determine the factors leading to this tragedy.
This incident marks the first fatal aviation accident involving a U.S. commercial airline since 2009, when Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed in Buffalo, New York, resulting in 49 fatalities. The Potomac River has been the site of previous aviation tragedies, notably the 1982 crash of Air Florida Flight 90 shortly after takeoff from the same airport.
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