Updates: Horror Over DC – Black Hawk Helicopter, Passenger Jet Collide – Bodies in Potomac – Prayer Needed

No one survived Wednesday night’s midair collision of an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter that sent debris raining down upon the Potomac River

American Airlines said 60 passengers and four crew members were aboard the plane when it collided with the Sikorsky H-60, according to WTOP-FM.

The plane, which was flying into Washington from Wichita, Kansas, had been preparing to land at Reagan National Airport. The chopper, carrying three soldiers, was on a training flight.

As of 8 a.m. Thursday, 28 bodies had been pulled from the Potomac.

Washington D.C. Fire Chief, John Donnelly said Thursday that all aboard both aircraft were killed.

“We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” he said. “We don’t believe there are any survivors.”

“We will continue to work to find all the bodies and collect them and reunite them with their loved ones,” Donnelly said, according to NBC.

Donnelly said earlier that about 300 responders had been searching for survivors, pulling debris, luggage, and bodies from the water.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the collision happened around 9 p.m. as the plane was approaching the airport, according to WTOP

Flight tracking data showed that Flight 5342, a Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine jet, was approaching for its landing at about 400 feet and a speed of 140 mph when it dropped suddenly.

Less than 30 seconds before the collision, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter if it was aware of the plane and advised it to “pass behind the CRJ.”

The collision came seconds later.

The plane broke into two pieces after the chopper hit it, according to NBC.

“It was probably out in the middle of the river. I just saw a fireball, and then it was just gone,” an audio transmission from the airport said.

Wreckage from the crash in the Potomac pic.twitter.com/XDVpAmshlp

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 30, 2025

The Black Hawk helicopter was from Bravo Company, 12th Aviation Battalion out of Davison Army Airfield in Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

Elite American figure skaters were on the downed passenger jet, U.S. Figure Skating said. Two Russian champion skaters were also aboard.

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