See Live Updates Below
On January 29, 2025, a devastating mid-air collision occurred over the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., involving an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter. American Eagle Flight 5342, operated by PSA Airlines, was en route from Wichita, Kansas, to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members. The U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter had three military personnel on board.
The collision took place around 9 p.m. local time as both aircraft approached Runway 33 at Reagan National Airport. The impact sent both aircraft crashing into the Potomac River, prompting an immediate emergency response from the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, Maryland State Police, and other rescue teams. Harsh weather conditions, including frigid temperatures, strong winds, and icy waters, severely hampered search and rescue efforts. As of the latest reports, 28 bodies have been recovered, with no survivors found.
In the aftermath of this catastrophic event, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport suspended all takeoffs and landings, rerouting flights to nearby airports. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has launched an investigation into the cause of the collision, examining potential factors such as air traffic control communications, mechanical failures, and pilot actions.
The Cochran Firm has served as lead counsel in multi-fatality cases involving NTSB-led investigations. We have a long-standing history of fighting for justice on behalf of victims and their families in cases of wrongful death, aviation accidents, and catastrophic injury. With a proven track record in high-stakes litigation, our attorneys have successfully represented clients in complex cases involving corporate negligence, regulatory violations, and safety failures. We are committed to holding accountable those responsible for preventable tragedies and ensuring that victims' families receive the justice and compensation they deserve.
The airspace around DCA airport is notoriously crowded and concern for such a tragedy has existed for years. There is an urgent need for answers, and reform in the nation’s airspace which is our lawyers’ backyard. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the families and loved ones affected by this heartbreaking accident.
The Cochran Firm’s experienced aviation attorneys are available to answer any questions you may have at this terribly difficult time.
Jan 30, 2025 - 8:35 PM
PILOTS HAD REPORTED NEAR-MISSES WITH HELICOPTERS AT DCA IN THE YEARS BEFORE THE DEADLY CRASH
In the three years before the deadly collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines flight near Reagan National Airport, at least two other pilots reported near-misses with helicopters while landing at the airport. On two occasions, passenger planes had to take evasive action to avoid colliding with a helicopter when trying to land at the airport, according to reports filed by pilots. In a third incident, two military helicopters got too close together, an air traffic controller reported.
And just a day before the fatal collision, another flight approaching Reagan was forced to abort its first landing and go around after a helicopter flew near its flight path, according to air traffic control audio.
Jan 30, 2025 - 7:14 PM
RECOVERY TEAMS HAVE SEARCHED ALL ACCESSIBLE AREAS OF POTOMAC RIVER FOR DC PLANE CRASH VICTIMS
Recovery teams searching for bodies in the Potomac River following Wednesday's midair collision that left 67 people dead have explored all accessible areas of the crash site, according to first responders. Investigation and recovery efforts remain active and will continue Friday morning with divers working with NTSB to locate and salvage the American Airlines plane that was obliterated in the fiery collision, DC Fire and EMS Department posted to X.
Jan 30, 2025 - 7:13 PM
OHIO WOMAN, 33, DIED IN EXPLOSIVE DC PLANE COLLISION ON HER BIRTHDAY
A Cincinnati woman, along with two other locals, were among the 67 victims killed in a midair crash between a passenger plane and an Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport on Wednesday.Elizabeth Anne Keys, 33, was flying back to Washington D.C. from a work trip before the plane crashed that night. She died on her birthday, according to her long-time partner.
Jan 30, 2025
RONALD REAGAN WASHINGTON ‘ONE OF THE MOST DEMANDING AIRPORTS’ FOR PILOTS, WHO FACE ‘HELICOPTER ALLEY’
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport has the busiest runaway in the US, with an average of 819 takeoffs per day – which experts say likely contributed to Wednesday’s air disaster.
The airport – also known as DCA – also has two other runways, launching 62 flights an hour.
Jan 30, 2025 - 4:50 PM
F.A.A. REPORT: CONTROL TOWER STAFFING WAS ‘NOT NORMAL’ DURING DEADLY CRASH
An internal report suggested that the controller on duty the night of the accident was doing a job usually handled by two people. The collision between a jet and an Army helicopter killed 67 people, whose bodies were being recovered from the icy Potomac.
Jan 30, 2025 - 4:44 PM
NTSB MEMBER SAYS GOAL IS TO HAVE PRELIMINARY REPORT WITHIN 30 DAYS
National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman said the agency’s goal is to issue a preliminary report on the cause of the plane-helicopter collision within 30 days.
“Our investigative team will be on scene as long as it takes in order to obtain all of the perishable evidence and all of the fact-finding that is needed to bring us to a conclusion of probable cause,” he said.
Jan 30, 2025 - 4:08 PM
AMERICAN AIRLINES CREW WAS BASED IN CHARLOTTE
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom remains in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to support the families and help authorities.
The flight, number 5342, had 60 passengers on board and four Charlotte-based crew members, Isom said in a letter to American team members.
Jan 30, 2025 - 12:41 PM
4 MARYLAND LABOR UNION MEMBERS PRESUMED DEAD AFTER PLANE CRASH Four members of a Prince George's County-based labor union were onboard a plane that collided with an Army helicopter Wednesday in Washington D.C., and are now presumed dead, union leaders said in a social media post. Leaders of Steamfitters United Association Local 602 confirmed Thursday that four members were among the victims in the crash.
The union represents workers in the heating, air conditioning, refrigeration and process piping industries in the D.C. Metro area.
Jan 30, 2025
VIRGINIA SCHOOL DISTRICT MOURNS FORMER STUDENTS LOST IN TRAGIC AVIATION COLLISION
A Virginia school district is grieving the loss of several former students who were aboard the plane that collided with a U.S. Army helicopter last night over the Potomac River.
In a statement, Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) Superintendent Aaron Spence expressed the community's profound sorrow:
“This unimaginable loss has deeply affected our community, and with great sorrow, we have learned that multiple victims were former LCPS students.
Many other Loudoun families have also been impacted, and we extend our deepest condolences to all those grieving in the wake of this tragedy.”
The superintendent also confirmed that mental health support services will be available to students and district staff to help them cope with the tragedy.
Loudoun County is located northwest of Washington, D.C.
Jan 30, 2025 - 6:37 AM
THE CRASH IS THE MOST SERIOUS AIR DISASTER INVOLVING A COMMERCIAL JET IN THE U.S. SINCE 2009.
The crash on Wednesday night was the most serious air disaster involving a commercial jet in the United States in more than a decade.
Officials said they believed that no one survived the midair collision of the jet carrying 64 people and an Army helicopter carrying three U.S. service members.
In February 2009, Colgan Air flight 3407 crashed into a house outside Buffalo right before it was to land, killing all 49 people aboard and one person in the house.
Jan 30, 2025 - 2:41 PM
BREAKING: NO SURVIVORS AFTER COLLISION BETWEEN PASSENGER JET AND ARMY HELICOPTER
All 67 aboard plane, copter killed in tragic midair collision near DC
Jan 30, 2025 - 8:56 AM
MULTIPLE YOUNG SKATERS FROM NORTHERN VIRGINIA WERE ON THE PLANE
Northern Virginia's figure skating community is reeling after receiving the news that a coach and multiple young skaters from the area were killed when an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter collided and crashed into the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport Wednesday evening.
Inna Volyanskaya, a skating coach at Ashburn Ice House, was one of the crash victims, Virginia Rep. Suhas Subramanyam said on social media.
Jan 30, 2025 - 8:24 AM
U.S. AND RUSSIAN FIGURE SKATERS AMONG VICTIMS OF DEVASTATING PLANE CRASH
Figure skaters from the United States and Russia were among the 64 people onboard the commercial jet that collided midair with an Army helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River on Wednesday night outside Washington. Russian ice skating coaches and former figure skating champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were aboard the American Airlines flight that crashed in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night, according to sport agent, Ari Zakarian.
Their son Maxim Naumov, who competes for the U.S. national figure skating team, was also believed to be on board.
U.S. Figure Skating, the American governing body for the sport, said that the skaters were returning from a training camp for top juvenile, intermediate, and novice skaters that follows the national figure skating championships, which were held in Wichita, Kan., over the weekend, according to NY Times.
Jan 30, 2025 - 1:02 PM
TEAM USA MOURNS “PROFOUND LOSS” OF SEVERAL FIGURE SKATERS WHO WERE ABOARD PLANE
The organizers of the US Olympic and Paralympic teams are mourning the “profound loss” of several members of the US figure skating community who were aboard Wednesday’s American Airlines flight, the CEO of the US Olympic Committee said in a Team USA Post on X.
Jan 30, 2025 - 2:18 PM
BLACK BOXES FROM AIRPLANE NOT YET RECOVERED
First responders have not yet retrieved the cockpit voice recorder or the flight data recorder, also known as the black boxes, from the CRJ-700 aircraft that collided with a military helicopter before plunging into the Potomac River, Federal Aviation Administration officials told lawmakers.
The information came on a call where the government agency briefed members of Congress, according to two sources briefed on the call.
