Video shows American Airlines passenger jet, Black Hawk helicopter crash over DC
A military Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet collided in midair Wednesday night in Washington D.C. in a catastrophic crash that is believed to have left no survivors.
Officials have so far recovered more than dozen bodies as of Thursday morning from the frigid Potomac River, where debris from American Airlines Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas plummeted after the fiery crash. The passenger jet was carrying 64 passengers and crew when it collided just before 9 p.m. with the Army helicopter, which had a crew of three, while attempting to land at the Reagan Washington National Airport.
Recovery operations continued Thursday morning.
Video recorded by bystanders appears to show the harrowing moment when the two aircraft crashed into one another, causing a fiery explosion over the nation's capital. Watch it above.
Air traffic control audio: 'I just saw a fireball'
Air traffic control audio also captured the moments before and after the deadly crash.
The audio details communications between air traffic controllers and other aircraft, as well as the the final communication attempt with the three Army crew members in the helicopter, according to reporting from Reuters.
At 8:47 p.m., an air traffic controller is heard hailing the helicopter, call sign PAT25.
Seconds later, another aircraft called in to air traffic control, saying, "Tower, did you see that?" – apparently referring to the crash. An air traffic controller then redirected planes heading to runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport to go around.
"Crash, crash, crash, this is an alert three," one of the air traffic controllers can be heard saying in the audio from around the time of the crash.
"It was probably out in the middle of the river," a controller said. "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."
Crash victims included Russian, US figure skaters
Among those believe dead in the collision are Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won world championships in pairs figure skating in 1994 before moving to the U.S. and becoming coaches. In addition to them, four members of the Skating Club of Boston, including two teenagers and their parents were on board the flight from Wichita.
Also on board were a group of figure skaters, their coaches and family members returning home from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita. Wichita Mayor Lily Wu called Wednesday's crash a "terrible tragedy" and said officials will hold a public prayer vigil at city hall Thursday afternoon.
The Army helicopter that crashed into an American Airlines plane was on an “annual proficiency training flight” when it crashed, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said in a video statement posted Thursday to X.
Contributing: Christopher Cann, Paste BN; Reuters
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for Paste BN. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com