Miami.- On Wednesday, January 29, 2025, around 9:00 pm, a passenger plane from American Airlines, operated by PSA Airlines, collided with a full flight with a military helicopter UH-60 Black Hawk on the Potomac River, Near Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington DC the plane, a Bombardier Crj700, had left Wichita, Kansas, and was in the final approach to the airport at the time of the accident.
Victims and rescue operations
The authorities have confirmed whatAnd there were no survivors Among the 67 people aboard both aircraft. So far, 28 bodies from the Potomac River have been recovered: 27 plane passengers and one of the three helicopter crew. More than 300 emergencies have worked on rescue and recovery in the icy waters of the river.
Ongoing research
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Board of Transportation Security (NTSB) have initiated a joint investigation to determine the causes of the collision. The Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, said that both flights followed their “standard flight patterns” at the time of the accident, and that it was not unusual for a military plane to fly over the river while another landed at the airport.
Aircraft and crew profile
The UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter belonged to the Bravo company, 12th aviation battalion, based on the Davison military airfield in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. I was making an annual night training flight, and the crew, composed of three members, used night vision glasses at the time of collision.
The American Airlines plane transported 64 people, including several members of the Ice Artistic Skating community returning from a national development camp held in Wichita. Among the deceased were Russian coaches Yevenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, world champions in 1994.
In addition to the athletes, award members of the heating installers union were among the dead in the collision.
Official reactions
The president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, expressed his deep regret for the accident, highlighting the possible presence of Olympic athletes and their support staff among the victims. For his part, Russian government spokesman Dmitri Peskov confirmed that several Russian citizens were aboard the wrecked plane.
President Donald Trump said that in moments of tragedy like this, “the differences between Americans fader compared to the ties of affection and loyalty that unite us all as Americans and even as nations.”
“This is shocking many people, even people from other countries, who are on the flight to take their relatives to Wichita, Kansas, here in Washington, DC, and throughout the United States and in Russia, we have a Russian contingent, Very talented people, ”he said.
Next steps
The authorities continue with the recovery operations on the Potomac River and advance in the investigation to clarify the circumstances that led to this tragedy. Updates are expected to provide more information about the causes that caused the incident.
