The flight was operated by SkyWest, which flies regional routes for American and other airlines. File image used for representation only.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A footage is going viral on social media platforms showing the air traffic control room screen, which appears to show the radar view of an American Airlines plane colliding with a US military helicopter on Wednesday.

The 49-second clip shows how the Army Black Hawk helicopter with three people on board – call sign PAT25 – crashed into the American Eagle Flight 5342, a small plane carrying 60 passengers and four crew members.

#BREAKING: Shared to me anonymously shows the Playback from official Air Traffic Control radar

#Washington | #DC

Watch as exclusive playback, sent anonymously by @avgeekjake to Rawsalerst, reveals official Air Traffic Control radar footage displaying the Collision Alert. pic.twitter.com/JuFNYDkc3v

— Flight 5342 (@flight5342) January 30, 2025

They collided over Washington before crashing into the Potomac River. 

Authorities say they do not expect any survivors from the crash, which was caught on multiple cameras. Multi-agency operation is underway to recover 67 bodies from the river.

Webcam at the Kennedy Center caught an explosion mid-air across the Potomac. https://t.co/v75sxitpH6 pic.twitter.com/HInYdhBYs5

— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) January 30, 2025

The American Airlines plane, which was flying to the US capital from Wichita, Kansas, was carrying athletes and coaches from the elite figure skating world, including former Russian world pairs champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.

The incident occurred at approximately 9:00 pm (ET) (0200 GMT) on Wednesday as the aircraft was making its final approach to Washington’s Reagan National Airport.

According to reports, the plane pilot has been identified as Sam Lilley, a 28-year-old with six years experience at American Airlines, and who was engaged to be married.

Air Traffic Controller Audio Captures Moments Before Washington Plane Crash

An Air traffic control audio also recorded the moments before and after the passenger jet crashed with the US Army helicopter.

Audio from LiveATC.net, a respected source for in-flight recording, captured the final communications between the three crew members of the chopper before it collided with the CRJ700 Bombardier jet.

“PAT25, do you have a CRJ in sight? PAT25, pass behind the CRJ,” an air traffic controller said at 8:47 pm (ET) on Wednesday.

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.

Air Traffic Control gave the Army helo permission to pass *behind* the jet coming into DCA. It’s in the ATC recording here at 17:30 from @Aristos_Revengehttps://t.co/gIMRoz1nEt…

ATC (likely DCA tower) asks the Army helo if it “has CRJ in sight?” “Pass behind the CRJ” https://t.co/AMJMqv6Ser pic.twitter.com/n7g7UgqFoh

— NOVA Campaigns (@NoVA_Campaigns) January 30, 2025

“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 said.

“Both the helicopter and the plane crashed in the river,” a third air traffic controller can be heard saying.

“It was probably out in the middle of the river,” the 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,” the controller added.

(With agency inputs)

A firetruck heads toward the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport after an air crash in Washington, DC, on January 29, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AFP

A passenger jet collided Wednesday (January 29, 2025) with a military helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, prompting a large search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River.

There was no immediate word on casualties, but all takeoffs and landings from the airport near Washington were halted as helicopters from agencies across the region flew over the scene in search of survivors. Inflatable rescue boats were being launched into the Potomac River from a point near the airport along the George Washington Parkway, just north of the airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the midair collision occurred around 9 p.m. EST when a regional jet that had departed from Wichita, Kansas, smashed into a military Blackhawk helicopter while on approach to an airport runway.

In a post on social media, American Airlines said it was aware of reports that one of its flights was involved in the incident and said it would provide more information once available.

Video from an observation camera at the nearby Kennedy Center shows two sets of lights consistent with aircraft appearing to join in a fireball.

The airport said emergency personnel were responding to “an aircraft incident on the airfield.”

The incident recalled the crash of an Air Florida flight that plummeted into the Potomac on January 13, 1982, that killed 78 people. That crash was attributed to bad weather.

No other details were immediately available.

The world’s largest airline operator, American Airlines, resumed operations in the United States on Christmas Eve after a brief pause due to an unspecified technical glitch. The Federal Aviation Administration has lifted the ground stop of American Airlines after halting operations.

The disruption, which lasted over an hour, affected thousands of passengers in the US during the Christmas period when air travel is at its peak.

“Our teams are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience,” the airline earlier said while responding to a passenger’s complaint on X.

Announcements were made at airports when passengers were ready to board the flights. A video from an airport in the US showed the airline informing passengers that “They will give an update every 15 minutes and let them know what is going on…Our system is down and we cannot put the crew on or board any customer…We are working on it.”

Announcement from American Airlines as we wait at @FLLFlyer @AmericanAir pic.twitter.com/zL4137ih4g

— Anna McAllister (@annamactv) December 24, 2024

The problem came on the morning of Christmas Eve, which is expected to set a travel record, according to the AAA. Several passengers posted on social media about the inconvenience faced, especially at the airport as flights were cancelled or grounded hours before the scheduled take off.

A note from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the company has requested for grounding of all flights.

The shares of the carrier were down 3.8% before the bell, Reuters reported. The airline has not made any formal statement on social media but responded to passenger complaints on X, Facebook and Bluesky.

This comes almost six months after the world faced a Microsoft outage, with airlines, banks, and businesses scrambling to resume operations.

The US grounded all planes briefly; flights in other nations were affected. It was one of the biggest IT crashes in recent history, affecting global communication and air traffic.

Representational image only.
| Photo Credit: AP

“A smoking laptop in a passenger’s bag prompted an evacuation on an American Airlines flight headed to Miami from San Francisco International Airport on July 12,” according to the airline.

“One person sustained minor injuries while exiting that required transport to a hospital,” the airline said. Passengers evacuated via emergency slides and a jet bridge.

Two other passengers also reported minor injuries, according to the San Francisco Fire Department, which responded to the incident. “Crews reported the smoking laptop as passengers were boarding,” the airline said.

American Airlines flight 2045 was scheduled to depart San Francisco at 12.15 p.m. for Miami. “The flight will depart later. Steve Kulm, a spokesperson with the Federal Aviation Administration,” said the agency will investigate.

A video captured the dramatic scene of an American Airlines plane suffering a tyre blowout during takeoff. Smoke and flames were visible as the aircraft aborted takeoff. Thankfully, emergency vehicles quickly reached the scene on the runway.

American Airlines reported that flight 590 had a “mechanical problem” before leaving the ground. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating after the pilots mentioned experiencing “multiple blown tyres.”

Most importantly, all 180 people on board (174 passengers and 6 crew members) disembarked safely and were transported back to the terminal. There were no injuries reported.

The passengers were re-accommodated on a replacement flight from Tampa. “We never want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused,” the airline said in a statement.

Watch the video here:

Sources informed ABC that the fire seen in the video is a controlled occurrence designed to prevent further damage and a major explosion during a high-energy stop.

In a statement, FAA said, “American Airlines Flight 590 aborted its takeoff from Tampa International Airport around 7:50 a.m. local time on Wednesday, July 10, after the crew reported multiple blown tyres. Passengers deplaned on the taxiway and were bused to the terminal. The flight was headed to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The FAA will investigate. Please contact the airline for additional information.”

“American Airlines flight 590 with service from Tampa (TPA) to Phoenix (PHX) experienced a mechanical issue on the runway prior to taking off. Customers safely deplaned and were bussed to the terminal. We never want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused,” the airline also issued a statement.

 

A 34-year-old US woman has been sued for failing to pay $81,950 fine for assaulting co-passengers on an American Airlines flight in 2021, a report said.

Heather Wells was accused of kicking and spatting at the passengers on a Charlotte-bound flight that she had boarded from Texas on July 7, 2021. Heather Wells was gagged and bound with duct tape to her seat after she tried to open the aircraft door mid-air.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had imposed $81,950 fine on her, the highest-ever imposed by the authority for violent behavior by a passenger, the New York Times said.

FAA has now sued her for failing to pay the fine.

She ordered an alcoholic beverage and became “increasingly agitated and wanted to get out of the plane,” the complaint said.

The 34-year-old then tried to open the cabin front door while “screaming and yelling profanities.”

Heather Wells was restrained to her seat with duct tape and flex cuffs but “continued to kick and spit and attempted to bite and head-butt a flight attendant and passengers,” it said.

She continued the violent behaviour before she was sedated and removed from the plane once it landed at the Charlotte airport.

The woman is being charged fine up to $45,000 for assaulting and threatening crew members and posing “an imminent threat to the safety of the aircraft, crew and passengers,” $27,950 for attempting to open the cabin door in-flight and $9,000 for interfering with the crew member’s duties, the USA Today reported.

American Airlines has been sued by three Black men who have alleged that they were racially discriminated against when they were removed from a flight. According to CNN, Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean-Joseph and Xavier Veals, along with five other Black male passengers were ejected from Flight 832 over body odour complaint. The incident took place on January 5, 2024, and the flight was on its way from Phoenix to JFK Airport in New York, CNN further said in its report.

The complainants have claimed in the lawsuit that they were ejected “without any valid reason, based solely on their race”.

When the American Airlines staffer approached them before take-off, ordering them to get off the plane, the men complied.

“Once they reached the jet bridge, they saw that several other Black men were also being removed from the plane. In fact, it appeared to Plaintiffs that American had ordered all of the Black male passengers on Flight 832 off the plane,” according to the complaint.

They were later told about the body odour complaint but they were never personally told about it, “and in fact none of the Plaintiffs had offensive body odour,” they said in the complaint, as per CNN.

Two of the plaintiffs – Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean-Joseph – spoke to NBC News and said they felt singled out for being Black.

“Being grouped and removed hits all these trigger points of things that I don’t think should happen to Black people anymore,” said Jackson, 27.

Mr Jean-Joseph said they were made to look like criminals as they walked down the aisle of the plane. “It still affects me. When I do get on a plane again, it’s going to be something that haunts me.”

In a statement, American Airlines said it was investigating the incident and that the “claims do not reflect our core values or our purpose of caring for people”.

In a very unusual incident, an aircraft was pushed away by powerful winds from the gate at Dallas Fort Worth Airport in the United States. Shocking footage reveals that the American Airlines Boeing 737-800, which weighed around 90,000 pounds, had its nose pushed around the tarmac when the loading bridge was disconnected.

According to American Airlines, the aircraft was one of “several” that were impacted by the gusts of 80 mph, causing the airport to ground up to 700 planes. There was nobody on the airplane and according to the airline representative, maintenance personnel are “currently conducting thorough inspections and will make any needed repairs.”

The now-viral video has amassed a lot of reactions from social media users.

American Airlines 737-800 pushed away from its gate at DFW Airport during severe weather Tuesday morning. pic.twitter.com/ZoccA1mw7A

— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) May 28, 2024

“Looks like strong winds captured by the tail fin of this @AmericanAir acted like a sail to push the plane away from the gate. Unknown if there was something missing to prevent the wheels from moving,” said a user.

“*Boeing execs, nervously*: Yeah, it was the weather. Not the plane. Definitely not the plane,” wrote another person.

A third said, “Yoh! Despite these scary aviation stories, we keep flying, what can we do?”

“This is insane,” said a user.

“Wow. That storm really was something else,” remarked a person.

Another said, “Wow. It was windy in the Dallas area today, but I didn’t realize it was this level crazy.”

Notably, the roof of a large commercial warehouse close to the airport was crushed by the same high winds. As strong winds hit Texas and its neighbouring states on Tuesday morning, almost 90 per cent of departures from D-FW airport were delayed or cancelled.

At least one person was killed and more than 600,000 people in Texas were left without power as severe storms brought another wave of extreme weather to a state still recovering from damaging and deadly storms in recent weeks.