American Airlines collision is the worst U.S. air disaster in years

The midair collision of a military helicopter and an American Airlines regional jetliner on Wednesday night brings to an end a streak of commercial air travel safety that was unknown to previous generations.

It is the worst air disaster on U.S. soil in more than 15 years.

American Eagle Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas was approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport at an altitude of about 300 feet when a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter carrying three people collided with the commercial jetliner.

Sixty-four people — 60 passengers and four crew members — were onboard the American flight. The flight was operated by American subsidiary carrier PSA Airlines. The plane was a Bombardier CRJ700, a regional jet used for shorter routes.

Rescuers raced to recover passengers from the frigid waters of the Potomac River Wednesday night, but local officials said conditions were challenging due to high winds.

“While we don’t yet know how many on board were lost, we know there are fatalities,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who heads the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which includes aviation, said on X.

NBC News4 in Washington reported rescue workers were pulling bodies from the river in the hours after the crash, citing two sources close to the investigation.

The U.S. has gone years without a fatal commercial airline crash. The last deadly U.S. commercial passenger airline crash occurred in February 2009 when Continental Flight 3407 crashed into a house as it was arriving in Buffalo, New York, killing all 49 people aboard and one person on the ground.

The crash of that turboprop aircraft prompted federal regulations requiring more rest and training for pilots.

The deadliest in recent memory was American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300 that crashed in November 2001 shortly after takeoff from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport for the Dominican Republic. All 260 people on the flight were killed and five others on the ground in Queens.

Airplane crashes have become extremely rare, which safety experts often chalk up to overlapping and redundant safety measures.

“It’s extremely safe. Even with this accident I’ll say it’s extremely safe,” said Jeff Guzzetti, a retired air safety investigator with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration. 

The National Transportation Safety Board will lead an investigation into Wednesday’s accident. It will include the Federal Aviation Administration, American Airlines, crew members’ labor unions and other parties.

The NTSB will issue a preliminary report but a final report that determines the cause or causes of an airplane crash can take months if not more than a year.

Investigators will examine everything from air traffic control recordings, training records, cockpit voice and data recorders if and when the black boxes are discovered, along with a host of other factors.

The accident presents a challenge to President Donald Trump days into his new term. He has not yet named a candidate to become a permanent head for the Federal Aviation Administration after Biden-appointed Mike Whitaker, who stepped down on Jan. 20, when Trump’s term began.

The FAA in 2023 laid out a plan designed to improve safety further and eliminate all “close calls” at airports.