The departures display board shows multiple flights delayed at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Arlington, Va.
| Photo Credit: AP

Part of the wreckage is seen as rescue boats search the waters of the Potomac River after a plane on approach to Reagan National Airport crashed into the river outside Washington, DC, January 30, 2025. A regional jet from Kansas crashed into Washington’s Potomac River after colliding mid-air with a military helicopter near Reagan National Airport, officials said January 29, prompting a major emergency response and grounding all flights.
| Photo Credit: AFP

An American Airlines jet with 60 passengers and four crew members aboard collided Wednesday (January 29, 2025) with an Army helicopter while coming in for a landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington and multiple people were killed.

Washington plane crash: Click here for the live updates

Fatal crashes of commercial aircraft in the U.S. have become a rarity. The last was in 2009 near Buffalo, New York. All 45 passengers and the four crew members were killed when the Bombardier DHC-8 propeller plane crashed into a house. One person on the ground also was killed.

The collision Wednesday of the Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine plane and UH-60 Blackhawk occurred over the Potomac River and the aircraft fell into the water. In 1982 an Air Florida flight crashed into the Potomac and killed 78.

Here are some of the deadliest commercial plane crashes in the U.S

Feb 12, 2009: A Colgan Air plane crashed near Buffalo, New York, killing everyone aboard the Bombardier DHC-8 propeller plane, including 45 passengers, two pilots and two flight attendants. Another person on the ground also died, bringing the total death toll to 50.

Aug 27, 2006: A Comair aircraft crashed when taking off in Lexington, Kentucky, after it left from the wrong runway and ran off the end. Two crew members and 47 passengers were killed.

Nov 12, 2001: Just after takeoff, an American Airlines flight crashed into a residential area of Belle Harbor, New York. All 260 people aboard the plane were killed.

Sept 11, 2001: Nearly 3,000 people were killed as 19 al-Qaida hijackers seized control of four jetliners, sending two of the planes into New York’s World Trade Center, a third into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and the fourth into a field in western Pennsylvania. It remains the deadliest terror attack in history.

Jan 31, 2000: An Alaska Airlines flight crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Anacapa Island, California. The crash killed 83 passengers and five crew members.

July 17, 1996: A Trans World Airlines flight crashed in the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on its way to Paris, France. All 230 people on board were killed, and the airplane was destroyed.

May 11, 1996: A Valujet Airlines flight crashed into the Everglades about 10 minutes after takeoff from the Miami International Airport. The crash killed all 105 passengers and five crew members.

Oct 31, 1994: An American Eagle flight in Roselawn, Indiana, crashed, killing 64 passengers and four crew members.

Sept 8, 1994: A USAir flight crashed while attempting to land in Pittsburgh. It killed 127 passengers and five crew members. The airplane was destroyed by the impact and fire.

July 19, 1989: A United Airlines flight experienced an engine failure and crashed while attempting to land in Sioux City, Iowa, killing 110 passengers and one crew member.

Aug 16, 1987: A Northwest Airlines flight crashed just after taking off in Romulus, Michigan, striking light poles, a rental car facility and the ground. The crash killed 148 passengers and six crew members.

Aug 2, 1985: A Delta Airlines flight crashed when approaching to land at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport during a thunderstorm. It struck a car and two water tanks, and killed 134 passengers and crew members.

July 9, 1982: A Pan American World Airways flight crashed just after takeoff near New Orleans, Louisiana, and collided with trees and houses, killing 145 people onboard.

Jan 13, 1982: An Air Florida flight plummeted into the Potomac, killing 70 passengers and four crew members. That crash was attributed to bad weather.

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.

Washington:

An American Airlines regional passenger jet was involved in a mid-air collision on Wednesday night with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport, officials said.

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas said on social media that “we know there are fatalities,” though he did not say how many.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said a PSA Airlines regional jet collided midair with a Black Hawk helicopter while on approach to Reagan. A U.S. Army official confirmed that one of its helicopters was involved in the crash.

PSA was operating Flight 5342 for American Airlines, which had departed from Wichita, Kansas, according to the FAA. According to American Airlines’ website, the jet can carry up to 65 passengers.

Police said multiple agencies were involved in a search and rescue operation in the Potomac River, which borders the airport.

MPD is responding to an apparent air crash in the Potomac River. Multiple agencies are responding. Details to come.

— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) January 30, 2025

The airport said late on Wednesday that all takeoffs and landings had been halted as emergency personnel responded to an aircraft incident.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was gathering more information on the incident.

There has not been a fatal U.S. passenger airplane accident since February 2009, but a series of near-miss incidents in recent years have raised serious safety concerns.

American Airlines said on social media that it was “aware of reports that American Eagle flight 5342, operated by PSA, with service from Wichita, Kansas (ICT) to Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) has been involved in an incident.”

American Airlines said it would provide more information as it became available to the company.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)