The Army Helicopter who collided with a passenger jet that came in for a landing on Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington Wednesday evening had three soldiers on board, Fox News learned.
The three soldiers aboard the Blackhawk when it crashed, were not publicly identified, but the helicopter did not wear VIPs or high officials, an army officer told FOX News.
Fox News also confirmed new sworn Defense Minister Pete Hegseeth Was not involved in the incident.
Hegseeth was shortly before the crash in the White House and actively follows the situation.
American Airlines -plane, army helicopter clashes outside Reagan National Airport near Washington DC
A helicopter uses a spotlight on the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, January 30, 2025, in Arlington, VA. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The helicopter had flown from Davidson’s air base in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and crashed while performing a training mission, said army officials.
Joint Base Anacostia Bolling is also over the river from Reagan National Airport.
The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-knife, Twin-Motor, Medium-Lift Utility Military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky aircraft.
Modified versions have also been developed for the American Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. The Blackhawk can wear a maximum of 15 people, including two pilots, two crew heads and two rescue specialists.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that a PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 Regional Jet collided with a Sikorsky H-60 ​​helicopter while he was on Runway 33 on Runway 33 on Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 p.m.
American Airlines Flight 5342 had left Wichita, Kansas and had 60 passengers and four crew members on board.
Several fatalities have been reported and officials said they have moved from a rescue to a recovery operation.
A boat works the stage near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, January 30, 2025, in Arlington, VA. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Passengers on the flight include a group of figure skaters, their coaches and family members who returned from a development camp that followed at the American figure skating championships in Wichita.
“We have been destroyed by this ineffable tragedy and keep the families of the victims closely in our hearts,” said our figure skating in a statement.
Two of those coaches were identified by the Kremlin as Russian figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the coupling title at the 1994 World Championships and participated twice in the Olympic Games. The Boston skating club mentions them as coaches and their son, Maxim Naumov, is a competitive figure skater for the US
The crash took place in some of the most tightly controlled and guarded airspace in the world, just over three miles south of the White House and the Capitol.
Audio of air traffic control at Reagan Airport has recorded flight 5342 and was told to use landing course 33 until air traffic controllers realize that something has happened and other aircraft will tell you to land or distract.
Rescue workers respond to the scene on the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, January 30, 2025, in Arlington, VA. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
“Everyone now keeps your positions on the field,” says Air Traffic Control. “Fire command. The accident happened in the river. Both the helicopter and the plane crashed into the river …”
“It was probably in the middle of the river. I just saw a fireball, and then it was just gone,” says an air traffic controller. “I have not seen anything since they hit the river. But it was a CRJ and a helicopter that struck.”
PSA Airlines is a subsidiary of American Airlines, American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigate and the NTSB leads the probe.
The route of the crashed flight is fairly new. Direct flights from Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport to Ronald Reagan National Airport started on January 8, 2024, Jesse Romo, Wichita Airport Authority Director of Airports, said.
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“I know that flight. I flew it several times,” Senator Jerry Moran from Kansas, R-Kansas, told The Associated Press. He said he expected many people in Wichita to know people who were fleeing.
“This is a very personal circumstance,” he said.
The Associated Press has contributed to this report.
