DC aircraft crash timeline: Midair collision comes to 67 passengers, staff contributors, infantrymen

An estimated 67 individuals are presumed lifeless after a Black Hawk helicopter collided with a industrial American Airways flight from Wichita, Kansas, over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night.

A complete of 64 other people, together with 4 staff contributors, have been aboard passenger American Airways Flight 5342, and 3 infantrymen have been at the Military Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk that got here from Castle Belvoir in Virginia. 

AMERICAN AIRLINES PLANE, ARMY HELICOPTER COLLIDE OUTSIDE REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT NEAR WASHINGTON DC

Here’s a timeline of occasions main as much as and right away after the Wednesday evening crash.

Jan. 29

5:18 p.m. CST

AA Flight 5342 departs Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower Nationwide Airport (ITC) for Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport (DCA) at 5:18 p.m. CST, or 6:18 p.m. EST, consistent with air site visitors regulate data from FlightRadar24.

8:39 p.m. EST

An Military UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter departs Castle Belvoir as a part of a coaching workout. A senior Military legitimate instructed Fox Information the warriors have been a part of a “slightly skilled” Black Hawk staff, and so they had evening imaginative and prescient goggles aboard the helicopter.

8:40 p.m. EST

Flight 5342 started to descend into DCA from the south.

DC PLANE CRASH AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL AUDIO REVEALS MOMENT CONTROLLERS SAW DISASTER: ‘TOWER DID YOU SEE THAT?’

8:46 p.m. 

Air site visitors controllers ask Flight 5342 to land on Runway 33, and pilots recognize the order.

ATC AUDIO:

8:48 p.m. EST

An air site visitors regulate legitimate asks the Black Hawk (PAT-25) pilot whether or not he can see the economic plane.

“Do you might have the CRJ in sight?” the controller asks, and the helicopter pilot confirms he sees the passenger aircraft and requests “visible separation,” which means he is making an attempt to get out of the flight’s trail, consistent with FlightRadar24 audio.

VICTIMS IDENTIFIED IN DC PLANE CRASH INVOLVING AMERICAN AIRLINES JET AND MILITARY HELICOPTER

“PAT-25, do you might have the CRJ in sight?” the controller may also be heard announcing to the helicopter pilot 30 seconds sooner than the crash.

The controller makes some other radio name to PAT-25 moments later: “PAT-25, move in the back of the CRJ.”

ATC AUDIO REVEALS MOMENT CONTROLLERS SAW DISASTER:

8:48 p.m. EST

Military UH-60 and Flight 5342 then collide over the Potomac River, inflicting an explosion midair at an altitude of about 300 toes that used to be stuck on digicam.

Air site visitors controllers may also be heard reacting, and asking, “Did you notice that?”

8:53 p.m. EST

The D.C. Metropolitan Police Division (MPD) receives telephone calls reporting a aircraft crash over the Potomac. 

REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT CRASH: MILITARY BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER COLLIDES MIDAIR WITH AMERICAN AIRLINES JET

MPD, D.C. Fireplace and EMS, and “more than one spouse businesses” start coordinating a seek and rescue operation.

Emergency cars level at Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport on Wednesday evening on Jan. 29, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (Kevin Wolf/AP)

9:00 p.m. EST

DCA closes because of an “plane emergency.”

9:09 p.m. EST

The DC Fireplace and EMS Division posts an replace on X pointing out, “Showed small plane down in Potomac River neighborhood Reagan Nationwide Airport. Fireboats on scene.”

Rescue staff reply to the scene at the Potomac River close to Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (AP Photograph/Julio Cortez)

10:51 p.m. EST

White Space press secretary Karoline Leavitt posts a commentary from President Donald Trump to X.

“I’ve been absolutely briefed at the horrible twist of fate which simply came about at Reagan Nationwide Airport. Might God Bless their souls. Thanks for the fantastic paintings being finished via our first responders. I’m tracking the placement and can supply extra main points as they get up,” the commentary reads.

Emergency reaction groups, together with Washington, D.C., Fireplace and EMS, Washington, D.C., Police and others, assess aircraft wreckage within the Potomac River close to Ronald Reagan Washington Airport on Jan. 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (Andrew Harnik/Getty)

12:30 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser holds a press convention with different legislation enforcement group of workers and broadcasts {that a} passenger plane collided with an army plane.

DC Fireplace and EMS Leader John A. Donnelly broadcasts that officers “have recovered 27 other people from the aircraft and one from the helicopter.”

Legislation enforcement proceed their investigation into the American Airways aircraft that crashed into the Potomac River because it used to be making an attempt to land on the Reagan Nationwide Airport on Jan. 30, 2025 in Washington, D.C. The American Airways flight from Wichita, Kansas, collided in midair with an army helicopter whilst coming near the airport. In line with experiences, there have been no survivors a few of the 67 other people on board each plane. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Photographs)

“Regardless of a majority of these efforts, we at the moment are at some degree the place we’re switching from a rescue operation to a restoration operation,” Donnelly says.

Jan. 30

8:30 a.m. EST

Officers grasp a press convention in Washington, D.C., announcing all 67 passengers, staff contributors and infantrymen on board each plane are presumed lifeless.

“We at the moment are on the level the place we’re switching from a rescue operation to a restoration operation,” Donnelly says throughout the briefing. “We don’t consider there are any survivors.”

11:00 a.m. EST

Flights resume touchdown at DCA; the primary plane lands on the airport at 11:02 a.m.

A Division of Hometown Safety supply tells Fox Information Virtual that there are “no terror considerations” after the collision, and officers suspect the crash used to be “only a tragedy.”

An inner initial Federal Aviation Management (FAA) record reviewed via The New York Instances says staffing on the air regulate tower at DCA used to be “no longer standard for the time of day and quantity of site visitors.”

Onlookers watch as emergency crews reply to the crash website online close to the Potomac River after a passenger jet collided with a helicopter whilst touchdown at Ronald Reagan Nationwide Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Alex Wroblewski/Bloomberg by the use of Getty Photographs)

The controller who used to be dealing with helicopters Wednesday evening used to be additionally educating planes that have been touchdown and departing from the airport runways, the Instances reported. The ones assignments are usually assigned to 2 controllers.

Jan. 31

Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth instructed “Fox & Pals” on Friday that officers “will resolve what came about right here.”

“It is utterly unacceptable in our country’s capital or anyplace. The army trains, and it trains robustly. And we are not going to forestall coaching, despite the fact that there is a pause in this unit, in this workout, which is a very powerful one. And we must have that pause till we resolve this,” Hegseth mentioned. “…We need to educate safely. One thing like this will by no means occur. And it is utterly unacceptable.”

Hegseth provides that he does no longer “know precisely how the staffing took place in that exact air site visitors regulate tower.”

WATCH:

“It feels like there used to be a scarcity [of controllers], and the investigation will let us know extra about that,” he mentioned. “However the surroundings round which we make a choice pilots or air site visitors controllers, because the president identified accurately the previous day, higher be the easiest conceivable usual — the most efficient of the most efficient who’re managing … a flight a minute and managing radio site visitors.”

The Federal Aviation Management reportedly restricts helicopter flights close to DCA, telling Reuters the company is prohibiting maximum helicopters from spaces of 2 routes close to the airport, handiest permitting first responders into the world. 

The routes are believed to be the similar ones the Military Black Hawk helicopter used to be touring alongside Wednesday evening when it collided with the American Airways passenger jet. 

Legislation enforcement proceed their investigation into the American Airways aircraft that crashed into the Potomac River because it used to be making an attempt to land on the Reagan Nationwide Airport on January 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Photographs)

The FAA additionally mentioned to lawmakers that the limitations will stay in position indefinitely because it conducts an investigation, consistent with Reuters. 

“Our union absolutely helps this motion via the FAA,” the Affiliation of Flight Attendants-CWA mentioned. “Operations must exchange, on the very least till we be told extra about what ended in the deadliest U.S. aviation twist of fate in 24 years. 67 souls have been misplaced no longer even 48 hours in the past — we must no longer perform as though not anything came about.”

Previous to the fatal collision, there were an army aircraft-involved crash in Alaska on Tuesday. Officers mentioned a U.S. Air Power F-35 fighter jet crashed in Alaska after the pilot controlled to securely eject from the plane.

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There were a minimum of 238 deaths and 227 accidents stemming from non-combat U.S. army plane crashes since 2012, consistent with the FAA.

There have additionally been more than one “shut name” incidents at DCA since 2023.

Fox Information’ Greg Norman, The Related Press contributed to this record.