No survivors after helicopter collides with plane over Washington

Divers pulled bodies from the icy waters of the Potomac River on Thursday after a U.S. military helicopter collided midair with a passenger plane carrying 64 people, with officials saying there were likely no survivors.

As dawn broke over the crash site, located three miles from the White House, wreckage from both aircraft protruded from the water as emergency vessels and diving teams scoured the area.

"We are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation," Washington Fire Chief John Donnelly said at a news conference at Reagan National Airport.

"We don't believe there are any survivors," Donnelly said, adding that 28 bodies had been recovered so far, including one from the helicopter.

At least 300 first responders were involved in the operation, which continued in pitch darkness for several hours. Recovery teams discovered debris a mile downriver.

"These responders found extremely frigid conditions, heavy wind, ice on the water, and they operated all night," Donnelly said.

Authorities provided no immediate details on the cause of the crash. Transportation officials said both aircraft were on standard flight patterns on a clear night with good visibility.

"Do I think this was preventable? Absolutely," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at the news conference.

Dramatic audio from air traffic controllers captured them repeatedly asking the helicopter if it had the passenger jet "in sight." Just before the crash, controllers instructed the helicopter to "pass behind" the plane.

'A fireball and it was gone'

"I just saw a fireball, and it was gone," one air traffic controller was heard telling another after communication with the helicopter was lost.

Both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River. The fuselage of the passenger jet broke into three sections.

U.S. Figure Skating said several athletes, coaches, and officials were aboard the flight. Moscow officials confirmed that married Russian couple Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, the 1994 world pairs champions, were also on board.

The Bombardier plane, operated by an American Airlines subsidiary, had 60 passengers and four crew members on board. It was approaching the airport around 9 p.m. after a flight from Wichita, Kansas when the collision occurred.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Black Hawk helicopter had "a fairly experienced crew that was conducting a required annual night evaluation."

"They did have night vision goggles," he added.

Witness Ari Schulman was driving home when he saw the plane moments before impact.

"The plane looked fine, normal. It was right about to head over land," Schulman told CNN. "Three seconds later, it was banked all the way to the right. I could see the underside of it. It was lit up a very bright yellow."

Trump criticizes air traffic control

President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak on the incident at 11 a.m. but weighed in earlier on social media.

"The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

"Why didn't the helicopter go up or down, or turn? Why didn't the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane? This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!"

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered all flights grounded at Reagan National, with operations set to resume at 11 a.m.

American Airlines Chief Executive Robert Isom expressed "deep sorrow" over the crash and said the plane's pilot had six years of experience.

U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., called the collision "nothing short of a nightmare."

Crowded airspace raises questions

It was unclear how a passenger plane equipped with modern collision-avoidance technology and under air traffic control could collide with a military aircraft over the nation’s capital.

Washington’s airspace is often congested, with planes approaching Reagan National at low altitudes and helicopters—military, civilian, and government—frequently traversing the area day and night.

The same airport was the site of a deadly crash in 1982 when a Boeing 737 plummeted into the Potomac after takeoff, striking a bridge. That crash left 78 people dead.