American Airlines jet collides with helicopter near Washington airport
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WASHINGTON: A passenger jet from Kansas crashed into Washington's Potomac River after colliding mid-air with a military helicopter near Reagan National Airport, officials said Wednesday (Jan 29), prompting a major emergency response and grounding all flights.
According to the US Federal Aviation Administration, a PSA Airlines regional jet collided midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter.
PSA was operating Flight 5342 for American Airlines, which had departed from Wichita, Kansas, it said.
According to an American Airlines source, 60 passengers were scheduled to be on that jet.
A US official said that three soldiers were aboard the BlackHawk helicopter. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the official said the status of the soldiers was unknown but added that no senior officials were on the helicopter.
Police said multiple agencies were involved in a search and rescue operation in the Potomac River, which borders the airport but that there was no immediate word on casualties.
US President Donald Trump "has been made aware of this situation and tragically it appears that a military helicopter collided with a regional jet", Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News.
US Senator Ted Cruz said there were fatalities after a PSA Airlines regional jet collided midair with a helicopter while on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
In a statement on X, Cruz said: " While we don’t yet know how many on board were lost, we know there are fatalities." Cruz did not provide details or give the source of his information.
According to American Airlines' website, the jet has a capacity for up to 65 passengers.
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 chilly Potomac River.
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