Washington DC plane crash: What we know about 'terrible accident' after passenger jet collided with Army helicopter

What we know so far

An American Airlines flight and a Black Hawk helicopter collided at Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington DC.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the airport would be closed until at least 5am on Friday .

The agency said the mid-air crash occurred around 9pm local time when a regional jet that had departed from Wichita, Kansas , collided with a military helicopter on a training flight while on approach to an airport runway. It occurred in some of the most tightly controlled and monitored airspace in the world, just over three miles south of the White House and the Capitol.

In audio from the air traffic control tower around the time of the crash, a controller is heard asking the helicopter: "PAT25 do you have the CRJ in sight," in reference to the passenger aircraft.

"Tower did you see that?" another pilot is heard calling seconds after the apparent collision.

Investigators will try to piece together the aircrafts' final moments before their collision, including contact with air traffic controllers as well as a loss of altitude by the passenger jet.

American Airlines flight 5342 was inbound to Reagan National at an altitude of about 400 feet and a speed of about 140 miles per hour when it suffered a rapid loss of altitude over the Potomac River, according to data from its radio transponder.

The Canadian-made Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine jet was manufactured in 2004 and can be configured to carry up to 70 passengers.

A few minutes before landing, air traffic controllers asked the arriving commercial jet if it could land on the shorter Runway 33 at Reagan National and the pilots said they were able.

Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asks the helicopter if it has the arriving plane in sight. The controller makes another radio call to the helicopter moments later: "PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ." Seconds after that the two aircraft collide.

The plane's radio transponder stopped transmitting about 2,400 feet short of the runway, roughly over the middle of the river.

The tower immediately began diverting other aircraft from Reagan.

American Airlines confirmed 60 passengers and four crew members were aboard the passenger jet, and The Associated Press reported a source confirmed that there have been multiple fatalities. though that they were not authorised to public discuss the details.

There are currently about 300 responders working on the rescue operation.

Inflatable rescue boats were launched into the nearby Potomac River from a point near the airport along the George Washington Parkway , just north of the airport.

Has President Trump been briefed and what has he said

President Donald Trump says he has been briefed on the "terrible accident.”

In a statement late on Wednesday, Mr Trump thanked first responders for their "incredible work," noting that he was "monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise".

"May God Bless their souls," he added.

Vice President JD Vance also encouraged followers on the social media platform X to "say a prayer for everyone involved".

What has been said from the scene of the incident

Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas said "when one person dies it's a tragedy, but when many, many, many people die it's an unbearable sorrow".

Washington mayor Muriel Bowser would not say whether any bodies were recovered from the crash.

Washington Fire and EMS chief John A Donnelly said at the early Thursday news conference that conditions are "extremely rough for responders", with cold weather and intense wind.

The Potomac River is about eight feet deep where the aircraft crashed after their collision.

"The water is dark. It is murky," Mr Donnelly said.

Asked if there are any survivors, Mr Donnelly responded: "We don't know yet. But we're working."