A collision between an airliner and a helicopter took place this Wednesday in Washington on Wednesday and made several victims. Research continues in “difficult” conditions and the track of a dysfunction is not excluded.
An American airliner collided with a helicopter above Washington this Wednesday, January 29 in the evening, close to the airportronald-reagan. “Flight 5342, from Wichita, Kansas (ICT) and to Washington DC (DCA), was involved in an accident, “reacts American Airlines. 60 passengers and four crew members were on board the aircraft. A crash that occurred at” average altitude with a Sikorsky H-60 helicptere at the time of The approach to land, “said the American aviation regulator (FAA). The two devices are now in the waters of the Potomac river.
“We are not waiting for any survivors”
An investigation was opened by the army and the Ministry of Defense announced the Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth. He regrets a “tragic” collision and ensures that “research and rescue efforts are still in progress”. “The water is dark, troubled, and it is very difficult to dive in these conditions,” said the head of firefighters and emergency medical services of Washington, John A. Donnllly SR on CNN. According to him, research continues in “dangerous” conditions.
For the time being, at least 28 dead have been found and no survivor could be extracted announced a local police officer on the American channel CBS News. 27 dead come from the plane and one from the helicopter. “We went to a rescue operation to a body recovery operation,” said John Donelly, head of the Washington DC firefighters during a press conference. “We are not waiting for any survivors,” he continues.
Breaking News: A Military Helicopter and A Regional Aircraft from Kansas Collided Near Reagan National Airport, Drawing A Large Emergency Response Near DC Roughly 60 People Were Aboard the Aircraft, Officials Said.
Follow live updates: https://t.co/m9zvis12ia pic.twitter.com/f6obtlzkgu
– The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 30, 2025
A disaster that “should have been avoided”, Trump furious
A research and rescue operation with the police and the firefighters is always on the scene of the accident as well as in the icy waters of Potomac, the river near the airport. On board the involved helicopter, known as “Black Hawk”, three soldiers were on board said a Pentagon official. No senior American official was present. The military helicopter involved in the crash was “training theft,” said a spokesperson for the American army, in a message relayed on social networks by the head of the Pentagon Pete Hegseth.
A catastrophe that “should have been avoided” according to US President Donald Trump. “The helicopter went straight to the plane for an extended period. It is a clear night, the plane lights were lit, why did the helicopter not mounted or descended, or Didn’t he turn? ‘Plane, “he wrote on his social network Truth. “This is a bad situation that should have been avoided. Not good !!!”, he concludes.
A recording of the airport control tower has already been unveiled. Several American media have had access to it, and we can clearly hear an air traffic control operator asking the helicopter if he has the commercial airliner “in sight” before telling him to “go behind”, to no avail, It is already too late, the crash could not be avoided.
13:57 – A standard flight diagram?
If the circumstances of the drama question, the Minister of Transport indicated during a press conference that the collision took place during a “standard flight diagram”. According to him, “we did not have to do an unusual situation”. The weather and visibility were good for the flight. The two descent trajectories were also normal. “It is not unusual that a military helicopter takes off from its base while a commercial plane landed on the track,” he added.
13:54 – 28 bodies found and little hope of survivors
28 bodies were found by help at this stage, 27 from the plane and one from the helicopter. “We went to a rescue operation to a body recovery operation,” said John Donelly, head of the Washington DC firefighters during a press conference. “We are not waiting for any survivors,” he continues, indicating that the emergency services have already recovered “a body from the helicopter and 27 from the commercial aircraft”.
12:45 – Could the drama have been avoided?
Did the air crash in Washington “have luck” to be avoided “, as Donald Trump understands? While rescue operations are still underway in the Potomac river which sprinkles Washington, research reveals disturbing circumstances. We explain everything to you in our dedicated article, below:
12:00 – A press conference scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in Washington
After the crash between a plane and a helicopter this morning above the Reagan airport, a press conference will be organized by the mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser at 7:30 am (local time), or 13:30 this Thursday in Paris. A first human assessment could be formalized there as well as new information on the current research in the cold waters of the Potomac river.
11:30 – Human remains and debris found
According to a CBS News correspondent, plane and helicopter debris as well as human remains have been discovered, stranded, on the banks of the river on the side of the State of Virginia. One of the two black boxes of the airliner was visibly found.
11:19 – The Kremlin confirms that “other Russian citizens” were on board
The spokesperson for Kremlin Dmitri Peskov confirms this Thursday morning that “others of (their) fellow citizens”, in addition to the artistic skaters, were also on board the plane involved in the crash with a helicopter, which has already cost Death to 18 people according to figures communicated by the American media. The balance sheet is only provisional, while 67 people are involved.
10:24 – Was the helicopter equipped with a TCAS?
“We do not know what this helicopter shared with the control tower. Air surveillance agents do not have a radar which would physically detect nearby air appliances. The control tower only has the information shared By the members of the aircraft. Columns of the Midi Dispatch.
In addition, it is important to understand that a helicopter is not necessarily equipped with a TCAS, the famous anti-collision system. And when they are equipped with it, it is not necessarily activated, especially during mission flights. “It is a system which, especially on military devices of this kind, is in any case not activated in these conditions,” he continues.
10:18 – Is a malfunction possible?
One thing is certain, air traffic controllers from the Ronald-Reagan National Airport Tower tried to warn the helicopter pilots. “Pat 25, do you have the CRJ (American Airlines flight) on your radar? Are you going well behind?”, Is it asked, but unanswered, before the crash. On board planes, TCAS is present, a system that makes it possible to detect the dangerous approach of another device. He assesses the trajectory of each plane and reacts before a potential collision. It activates with 2 minutes when a convergent trajectory is detected. Obviously, here, everything did not go as planned.
10:02 – Two Russian skaters were on the plane
In addition to some great American hopes, two Russian artistic skaters were aboard the airliner, announces the Russian presses agencies. “On board the crushed plane was a former Russian trainer for figure skating, Inna Volyanskaya,” said Tass agency. They are a married couple, Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.
09:58 – Several bodies found
After the crash, several bodies were found indicate different American media such as the Washington Post, CNN or the BBC.
09:56 – “more than 60 inhabitants” of Kansas, “probably” dead
A republican Kansas senator believes this Thursday that “more than 60 inhabitants” of the state were “probably” dead in the crash. “When a person dies, it is a tragedy, but when many, many, many people die, it is an unbearable sorrow. It is an uncommon heartbreak,” continues Roger Marshall on CBS News. “It is really difficult to simultaneously lose more than 60 inhabitants of Kansas, probably,” he concludes.
09:27 – Artistic skaters were on the plane
The US is skating, the association of figure skating of UNITED STATESannounced this Thursday that “several of its members were on board the plane: skaters, coaches and relatives were back from a ‘development camp’ in Wichita”. “We are devastated by this indescribable tragedy and we are wholehearted with the families of the victims,” said the association in a press release.
09:08 – 67 people missing
60 passengers and 4 staff members were present aboard the airliner who struck a helicopter this WaShington Airport on Wednesday. In the helicopter, at least three soldiers were present, perhaps more, but no other details have yet been given by the American authorities. For the moment, no survivors have been found by the emergency services, several bodies have been removed from the water.
09:02 – Air traffic strongly disrupted at Reagan airport
This Thursday, January 30, 869 flights were to take off or land at the Reagan national airport, but the locations should stay closed up to at least 11 hours, local time announces the Cirium company. According to information from CNN, at least 19 planes, in flight, was diverted to Dulles airport due to the crash.
08:33 – The number of unknown victims, according to the mayor of Washington
Despite the announcement of CBS News at least 18 people dead, earlier in the day, the mayor of Washington wants to be more careful about the issue, as she indicated before the journalists: “Everything That we can confirm this evening these are the number of people on the devices, “she says.
08:26 – A rescue operation “in very cold and night conditions”
The mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser indicates during a press conference that “firefighters, with the support of the police in any Washington region, are doing a rescue operation. They work in very cold conditions And at night in order to do this rescue operation (…) officials are talking to families “potential victims, she concluded.
08:14 – “There are a lot of questions,” reacts the CEO of American Airlines
Robert Isom, CEO of American Airlines, spoke after the crash and wanted to “express our deep sorrow in the face of these events”, in a video broadcast on the group’s website. He said “working actively with local, state and federal authorities on emergency measures”. On the other hand, “there are a lot of questions but I am unable to answer them for the moment”.