DCA - American Airlines passenger plane collides with Blackhawk over the Potomac River, all 67 on both dead, 29 Jan 2025

[dotr]

Jan 30 '25

Midair collision kills 67 people in the deadliest U.S. air disaster in almost a quarter century

A midair collision between an Army helicopter and a jetliner killed all 67 people aboard the two aircraft, officials said Thursday, as they scrutinized the actions of the military pilot in the country’s deadliest aviation disaster in almost a quarter century.

www.cp24.com

“We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” said John Donnelly, the fire chief in the nation’s capital. “We don’t believe there are any survivors.”

The body of the plane was found upside down in three sections in waist-deep water. The wreckage of the helicopter was also found.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the Wednesday collision, but officials said flight conditions were clear as the jet coming from Wichita, Kansas, with U.S. and Russian figure skaters and others aboard, was making a routine landing when the helicopter flew into its path.

“On final approach into Reagan National it collided with a military aircraft on an otherwise normal approach,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said. ”At this time we don’t know why the military aircraft came into the path of the ... aircraft.”

 

[TexLil]

PAT 205 is Blackhawk, and they acknowledged “We see it” CRJ is the American Airline passenger jet.

CRJ = Canadian Regional Jet

Reference post #299 with full air traffic comms. I didn't hear a "We see it" from the helicopter. Just the two calls from the tower to the helicopter. Do you have a link for the "We see it"? TIA

 

[iamshadow21]

No black boxes recovered yet.

No black boxes have been recovered from crash scene: Source

No black boxes have been recovered yet from the scene of the collision, National Transportation Safety Board source told NBC News. Large commercial aircraft and some smaller commercial, corporate and private aircraft are required by the FAA to be equipped with two “black boxes” that record...

www.nbcwashington.com

 

[Elley Mae]

Jan 30 '25

Midair collision kills 67 people in the deadliest U.S. air disaster in almost a quarter century

A midair collision between an Army helicopter and a jetliner killed all 67 people aboard the two aircraft, officials said Thursday, as they scrutinized the actions of the military pilot in the country’s deadliest aviation disaster in almost a quarter century.

www.cp24.com

View attachment 561479
“We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” said John Donnelly, the fire chief in the nation’s capital. “We don’t believe there are any survivors.”

The body of the plane was found upside down in three sections in waist-deep water. The wreckage of the helicopter was also found.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the Wednesday collision, but officials said flight conditions were clear as the jet coming from Wichita, Kansas, with U.S. and Russian figure skaters and others aboard, was making a routine landing when the helicopter flew into its path.

“On final approach into Reagan National it collided with a military aircraft on an otherwise normal approach,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said. ”At this time we don’t know why the military aircraft came into the path of the ... aircraft.”

That’s what I saw on video, the chopper flew in the planes path.

Jmo

 

[IceIce9]

Air traffic controller’s reaction to DC collision revealed in chilling audio: ‘Crash, crash, crash, this is an alert three’

“I just saw a fireball and then it was just gone,” one air traffic controller said.

nypost.com

 

[dotr]

American and Russian figure skaters on plane that crashed in Potomac

U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement that several skaters, coaches and their family members were on the commercial flight

torontosun.com

This photo taken on March 22, 1994 shows Russian figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov performing during the technical programme of the pairs event at the World Figure Skating Championships in Chiba. Photo by YOSHIKAZU TSUNO /AFP via Getty Images

''Passengers aboard board the American Airlines flight that collided with an Army helicopter and crashed into the frigid waters of the Potomac River included figure skaters returning from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and two of their Russian coaches.''​

 

[Deleted member 39678]

Reference post #299 with full air traffic comms. I didn't hear a "We see it" from the helicopter. Just the two calls from the tower to the helicopter. Do you have a link for the "We see it"? TIA

I believe that PAT25, the Army helicopter, transmitted on a different frequency and the link I provided didn't capture any of the transmissions from them. JMO.

 

[Occam's Zebra]

I can't bring myself to watch the video.

Is it clear whether the plane hit the helicopter, or the helicopter hit the plane? Most news stories say the "plane collided with the helicopter" which implies the plane hit the helicopter.

Have flown into DCA so many times and it's disconcerting every time - it's so busy and you're flying over water as you land. I hope it happened so quickly that no one in the aircraft had time to realize what was going on.

 

[Elley Mae]

The body of the plane was found upside down in three sections in waist-deep water. The wreckage of the helicopter was also found.

https://www.newsmax.com/scitech/helicopter-army-plane/2025/01/30/id/1197107/

Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter if it had the arriving plane in sight. The controller made another radio call to the helicopter moments later: "PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ." Seconds after that, the two aircraft collided.

The plane’s radio transponder stopped transmitting about 2,400 feet short of the runway, roughly over the middle of the river.

 

[iamshadow21]

I can't bring myself to watch the video.

Is it clear whether the plane hit the helicopter, or the helicopter hit the plane? Most news stories say the "plane collided with the helicopter" which implies the plane hit the helicopter.

Have flown into DCA so many times and it's disconcerting every time - it's so busy and you're flying over water as you land. I hope it happened so quickly that no one in the aircraft had time to realize what was going on.

The plane was lined up with the runway, coming in to land. There's no doubt who had right of way.

MOO

 

[TexLil]

I believe that PAT25, the Army helicopter, transmitted on a different frequency and the link I provided didn't capture any of the transmissions from them. JMO.

Thank you! I'll keep searching.

 

[dotr]

rbbm

Air traffic control asked if Army helicopter had American Airlines jet ‘in sight’ before collision

Air traffic control asked the crew onboard the Army helicopter if they had the American Airlight passenger jet “in sight” less than 30 seconds before the two collided.

www.wsaz.com

''(Gray News) - Air traffic control received no response from the Army helicopter less than 30 seconds before it collided with an American Airlines passenger jet, according to audio from air traffic control.
A few minutes before the plane was set to land, air traffic controllers asked the pilots if they could land the jet on a shorter runway at Reagan International. The pilots said they could.''

"The controller received no response and made another radio call to the Army helicopter: “PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ.”
Seconds later, the Army helicopter and plane collided.''

 

[Keiri]

I can't bring myself to watch the video.

Is it clear whether the plane hit the helicopter, or the helicopter hit the plane? Most news stories say the "plane collided with the helicopter" which implies the plane hit the helicopter.

Have flown into DCA so many times and it's disconcerting every time - it's so busy and you're flying over water as you land. I hope it happened so quickly that no one in the aircraft had time to realize what was going on.

It was clear from the videos the blackhawk hit the plane. No doubt. So much so that conspiracies were flying that it was intentional. Which is obviously incorrect from all the information we have now.

The way it was phrased in the news was confusing. As was saying they had "pulled" four people "out of the water" at the beginning. People thought they meant survivors.

 

[dotr]

A jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided Wednesday with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, prompting a large search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River. Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asks the helicopter if it has the arriving plane in sight: “PAT-25, do you have the CRJ in sight?” The controller makes another radio call to PAT25 moments later: “PAT-25 pass behind the CRJ.” Follow for live updates:

 

[justtrish]

The plane was lined up with the runway, coming in to land. There's no doubt who had right of way.

MOO

I am curious if the ATC changing the runway close to landing had any impact on this. If the plane was coming in for runway 1 and that is the typical runway used, then was the helicopter most used to them using that runway? How clear is it at night that a plane is coming in for runway 1 vs 33?

I am also curious how ATC can know that the helicopter is actually having visual of the correct plane at night? I mean look at how much air traffic there is so for a helicopter to just be given instructions to use visual to pass behind a plane. Seems this is such a poor way to confirm that 2 aircraft are going to avoid each other. I am not blaming the ATC as it seems this is the protocol, but it does seem crazy to me that this is the only way to confirm that a helicpoter is going to avoid a plane.. what if the plane they have visual of is not the plane they are asked to avoid? Goodness and at night with lights flashing everywhere in the area and a huge city with lights all around, I can see how easy it would be to not have visual of the correct thing.

IMO

 

[Izzylizzy]

1/29/25

‘There was a collision’: Air traffic control recording captures moment of crash | NBC4 Washington​

At the end a pilot ATC was directing after the crash said that he saw what happened.

 

[TexLil]

Thank you! I'll keep searching.

Quoting myself. Here's a link.

Chilling Audio From Air Traffic Control Released After DC Plane Crash: “It Was Just Gone”

Audio from the air traffic control related to the Washington DC plane crash reveals chilling details from the aftermath: I just saw a fireball.

www.boredpanda.com

Excerpts below from article:

In one chilling clip, the air traffic controller at Reagan International Airport can be heard asking the Black Hawk helicopter if they have “the CRJ in sight,” referring to the passenger jet. He then tells it to “pass behind the CRJ,” after which the military aircraft confirms, “PAT25 has the aircraft in sight, maintaining visual separation.”

The audio’s release has provoked a range of reactions online. Some questioned how the crash could have occurred when the helicopter had just confirmed having the passenger jet in sight, theorizing that the pilot must have confused it for another plane.

“I teach blackhawk pilots how to fly at night,” @SnakPakFlight commented on X. “You can hear the Blackhawk pilot confirm visual of the jet 5 seconds before impact. Could have been looking at another aircraft.”

“I wonder if the BlackHawk was looking right at the airplane taking off and not the incoming plane to his left,” speculated @King_Kyle.

 

[Justice101]

The plane was lined up with the runway, coming in to land. There's no doubt who had right of way.

MOO

ATC switched runways on approach to 33 which is further north than the regular landing path.. but if it was visual by the helicopter, clearly the jet was not where the helicopter thought it would be.
'
I saw a flight radar (not sure it was legit) that showed flight 5342 steady and arcing regularly for runway 33, but the helicopter abruptly turned to the east towards the plane. Looks to me like the helicopter pilot misjudged the distances and speeds involved and was their fault.

Prayers for the souls on board.

 

[Izzylizzy]

'Officials did not give any information on the flight history and experience of pilots on both aircraft, but did say that the captain had over six years of experience with the airline and the first officer had almost two years.'

DC plane crash updates: Remains of 55 victims recovered and positively identified

An American Airlines regional jet went down in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

abcnews.go.com

 

[iamshadow21]

ATC switched runways on approach to 33 which is further north than the regular landing path.. but if it was visual by the helicopter, clearly the jet was not where the helicopter thought it would be.
'
I saw a flight radar (not sure it was legit) that showed flight 5342 steady and arcing regularly for runway 33, but the helicopter abruptly turned to the east towards the plane. Looks to me like the helicopter pilot misjudged the distances and speeds involved and was their fault.

Prayers for the souls on board.

There's a guardian graphic that shows the smooth approach of the plane and the sharp course change of the helicopter into its path.

Washington DC officials believe there are no survivors after jet carrying 64 people collided with military helicopter – latest