There is breaking news coming from Washington DC’s Reagan National Airport (DCA), where an American Airlines regional flight collided with a helicopter and reportedly crashed into the Potomac River.
This happened less than 30 minutes ago, and emergency services are responding to the scene, trying to rescue survivors and salvage the aircraft in the pitch-black winter night.
Washington Raegan National Airport, airport code DCA, is the city airport in Washington, D.C., and it is very popular due to its close proximity to the city center, unlike Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
As this is a developing story, here is some basic information as reported by CBS:
At least one aircraft crashed Wednesday evening over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan International Airport outside Washington, D.C., officials said, grounding all flights at the airport.
The District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department reported in a social media post that a small aircraft crashed in the Potomac River in the “vicinity” of the airport.
The airport also said in a post on X that all takeoffs and landings at DCA had been halted.
“Emergency personnel are responding to an aircraft incident on the airfield. The terminal remains open,” the airport said.
The flight involved is reportedly American Eagle flight AA5342 and the other aircraft is a helicopter.
The accident happened during the landing of the CRJ700 regional jet, inbound from Wichita, Kansas.
American Airlines has confirmed this on X:
We’re aware of reports that American Eagle flight 5342, operated by PSA, with service from Wichita, Kansas (ICT) to Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) has been involved in an incident. We will provide information as it becomes available.
— americanair (@AmericanAir) January 30, 2025
Raegan Airport has posted on X that all operations are halted due to the accident:
All takeoffs and landings have been halted at DCA. Emergency personnel are responding to an aircraft incident on the airfield. The terminal remains open. Will update.
— Reagan Airport (@Reagan_Airport) January 30, 2025
There is also a live stream at the moment:
Going down in the Potomac at such a cold winter night is absolutely horrible, let’s hope that the emergency services are successful and if you’re someone who prays maybe now would be a good time.
Conclusion
An aircraft collision at Washington’s DCA Airport near downtown DC has shut down the airport and emergency services are currently respoding.
As per news reports, a CRJ700 regional flight of American Eagle from Wichita, KS, collided with a helicopter, after which at least one of the aircraft crashed into the Potomac River.
We’ll update this story as it develops.
