What we know about Washington plane crash that killed 67 as investigations continue

Investigators are still working to establish the cause of the crash that killed everyone on board when a Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet.

Search efforts after passenger jet collided with military helicopter in Washington DC. (Shutterstock)
Search efforts after passenger jet collided with military helicopter in Washington DC. (Shutterstock)

Investigations are continuing into the causes of a crash between a US passenger jet and military helicopter in Washington which left 67 people dead.

The American Airlines flight was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members when it crashed into a Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers on Wednesday night local time, before plunging into the Pontomac River.

Black boxes recovered from the Washington passenger jet revealed the final moments before the collision, and efforts have been ongoing to salvage parts of the aircraft as well as bodies of those who lost their lives.

On Saturday, the Washington DC fire department said 42 bodies had been recovered so far. While dozens of bodies are yet to be recovered, the victims are known to include six people connected to the US Figure Skating Association, including two talented teenage skaters and their mothers.

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Questions have been raised about air traffic control staffing levels at the airport where the jet was landing, as officials continue to look into the cause of the tragedy.

President Donald Trump, addressing the media on Thursday, said he'd been 'fully briefed' on the 'terrible accident', adding it looked like the crash 'could have been prevented' before he went to link the crash to Democrat diversity and inclusion hiring policies.

What happened?

When and where did the crash happen?

Video shows final moments before crash

Who were the victims?

What has President Trump said?

American Airlines flight 5342, which was carrying a total of 64 people, was on its way from Wichita, Kansas, and was making its final approach in Washington DC, with suggestions it was around one minute away from landing. It collided with the Black Hawk helicopter, which was carrying three soldiers from Fort Belvoir, Virginia, on a training mission.

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It has been reported that the helicopter was on a training mission for evacuating members of government in the event of a catastrophe or attack.

US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, told Fox News that the helicopter was performing a “continuity of government” drill but would not elaborate. Part of the tasks undertaken by the helicopter’s unit, the 12th aviation battalion, is reportedly to evacuate top officials from Washington DC to secure locations in the event of an emergency.

Both the plane and the helicopter crashed into the Potomac River. The two aircraft were found with the plane's fuselage inverted and in three different sections in waist-deep water.

After the black boxes were recovered from the aircraft's remains, the National Transportation Safety Board said it is studying the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the CRJ700 airplane.

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In a briefing on Saturday, officials said investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board had determined the plane was flying at 325ft (91m), plus or minus 25ft, at the time of impact, while the army helicoper was believed to be flying above 200ft (61m) - the maximum altitude for the route it was using.

Radio communications showed that air traffic controllers alerted the helicopter about the approaching jet and ordered it to change course.

It has also been suggested that a shortage in air traffic control staffing levels could have contributed to the crash, with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report seen by the New York Times reportedly saying that staffing levels were “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic”, while reports claimed that one traffic controller was handling the jobs of two people at the time.

CNN reported that the issue is widespread in airports across the US, saying that data from the Federal Aviation Administration suggested that across airport towers and terminal approach facilities nationwide, only 70% of staffing targets were filled by fully certified controllers as of September 2023, rising to around 79% when including controllers in training.

The collision took place at around 9pm local time on Wednesday night. Video footage showing what appears to be the crash was posted on social media shortly after it took place.

Flight tracker shows American Airlines jet’s path before Reagan Airport collision
Flight tracker shows American Airlines jet’s path before Reagan Airport collision

The collision occurred near Reagan National Airport, specifically over the Potomac River in Arlington, Virginia. The collision occurred at an altitude of around 300 feet, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24.

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The exact point of impact was close to the airport's approach path, within the dense airspace of the Washington DC metropolitan area.

Video footage shows the moment the American Airlines plane collided with the US army helicopter, causing a bright flash in the sky.

An air traffic controller can be heard telling a pilot of an aircraft to “land immediately”, asking them if they have a searchlight on board “that can shed some light on the east end of the field”.

Audio from Live ATC, a respected source for in-flight recording, also captured the final communications between the three crew members of the helicopter – call sign PAT25 – before it collided with the CRJ700 Bombardier jet carrying 64 passengers and crew.

"PAT25, do you have a CRJ in sight? PAT25, pass behind the CRJ," an air traffic controller said at 1.47am (GMT) on Thursday.

Seconds later, another aircraft called in to air traffic control, saying, "Tower, did you see that?" – seemingly referring to the crash.

A bright flash lights up the sky at the moment the plane crashed into a helicopter in Washington DC. (Reuters)
A bright flash lights up the sky at the moment the plane crashed into a helicopter in Washington DC. (Reuters)

"Crash, crash, crash, this is an alert three," one of the air traffic controllers can be heard.

"I don't know if you caught earlier what happened, but there was a collision on the approach into 33. We're going to be shutting down operations for the indefinite future," another controller says.

"Both the helicopter and the plane crashed in the river," a third controller says.

“It was probably out in the middle of the river," the controller says. "I just saw a fireball and then it was just gone. I haven't seen anything since they hit the river. But it was a CRJ and a helicopter that hit."

TOPSHOT - Part of the wreckage is seen as rescue crews search the waters of the Potomac River after a passenger plane on approach to Reagan National Airport crashed into the river after colliding with a US Army helicopter, near Washington, DC, on January 30, 2025. There are likely no survivors from a collision between a passenger jet and US Army helicopter in Washington, officials said Thursday, as recovery operations pulled 28 bodies from the river into which both crashed. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Part of the wreckage is seen as rescue crews search the waters of the Potomac River. (Getty)

All 60 passengers and four crew on board the plane and the three members of the military in the helicopter were killed in the crash.

The US Figure Skating association confirmed that “several members of the skating community” were on board the plane.

The Skating Club of Boston said six of the people who died on the flight were associated with its organisation, including top teenage skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane, along with both their mothers.

It has also been confirmed that Russian ice skating coaches and former world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were among the victims of the crash.

15 FEB 1994:  EUGENIA SHISHKOVA AND VADIM NAUMOV OF RUSSIA IN ACTION IN THE PAIRS FREE PROGRAM  AT THE 1994 LILLEHAMMER WINTER OLYMPICS.  Mandatory Credit: Chris Cole/ALLSPORT
World champion figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov are believed to have been on the plane. (Getty)

Shishkova and Naumov, who were married, won the world championships in pairs figure skating in 1994 and lived in the US, where they trained young ice skaters.

Twelve-year-old Olivia Ter was with the ice-skating group on the plane, along with Cory Haynos and his parents Roger Haynos and Stephanie Branton Haynos.

Philippine Police Col. Pergentino Malabed Jr. was among the plane's passengers. According to the the Philippine police, he was visiting the US to buy equipment for his force.

The Chinese Embassy in the US also confirmed that two Chinese nationals were among those killed on the plane.

The helicopter crew have been named as pilot Andrew Eaves, 39, Staff Sergeant Ryan Austin O'Hara, 28, and Captain Rebecca M Lobach, who was named on Saturday.

A statement from the Lobach family described her as a "bright star in all our lives", saying: "No one dreamed bigger or worked harder to achieve her goals."

Defence secretary Pete Hegseth previously confirmed in a statement the three soldiers were a "young captain, staff sergeant, and CW2 chief warrant officer," having described the trio as a "fairly experienced crew".

The family of Ian Epstein paid tribute to him after he was named among those killed in the plane crash (Facebook)
The family of Ian Epstein paid tribute to him after he was named among those killed in the plane crash (Facebook)

The plane staff were named as: Captain Jonathan J. Campos, 34, pilot Sam Lilley, 28, and flight attendants Danasia Elder, 34, and Ian Epstein, 53.

In a statement, Epstein's family said: "He loved being a flight attendant because he truly enjoyed traveling and meeting new people. But his true love was his family."

Soon after the crash, Trump issued a statement describing the crash as a “terrible accident” and thanked the emergency responders for their efforts, saying, “May God Bless their souls.”

He later questioned the circumstances of the crash and said it "looks like it should have been prevented”.

President Trump takes questions from the media at The White House following the Washington plane crash. (AP)
President Trump takes questions from the media at The White House following the Washington plane crash. (AP)

Trump later wrote on Truth Social: “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!!!"

Speaking on Thursday at a press conference Trump said the helicopter veered onto the course of the American Airlines flight saying it was a "bad angle".

He was speaking before the official investigation into the cause of the crash was concluded.

He also accused diversity rules in the air traffic control network that he said were brought in under Biden had undermined the integrity of their work. He provided no evidence to support his comment.

Asked why he suggested diversity rules, which have been on the FAA website since 2013, were to blame, Trump said: "Because I have common sense. OK? And unfortunately, a lot of people don’t. We want brilliant people doing this. This is a major chess game at the highest level."