New Delhi: A devastating mid-air collision between a US passenger jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter has led to a tragic crash into the Potomac River, killing all aboard both aircraft. The incident occurred on Wednesday night around 9:00 PM (0200 GMT), just moments before the commercial plane, a Bombardier CRJ-700, was making its final approach to Washington’s Reagan National Airport after departing from Wichita, Kansas.
According to reports, less than 30 seconds before the collision, air traffic controllers at Reagan National Airport issued instructions to the military Black Hawk helicopter, asking, “PAT25, do you have the CRJ in sight?” and then instructing the helicopter to “pass behind the CRJ.” However, there was no response from the helicopter. Seconds later, the two aircraft collided in mid-air. A pilot witnessing the crash urgently alerted the control tower, asking, “Tower, did you see that?”
Audio captured from LiveATC.net, a service for in-flight recordings, reveals the chilling final communications between the air traffic controllers. One controller can be heard urgently saying, “Crash, crash, crash, this is an alert three.”
American Airlines, whose regional subsidiary PSA Airlines operated the passenger aircraft, confirmed that 60 passengers and four crew members were on board the CRJ-700. The US Army stated that the Black Hawk was on a “training flight” at the time, with three soldiers on board.
Following the crash, emergency crews, totaling over 300 personnel, launched an extensive search and rescue operation. President Donald Trump offered his condolences for the victims, but shortly after, he criticized the air traffic control procedures on social media. He questioned why the helicopter did not avoid the plane and why air traffic controllers failed to direct the helicopter appropriately, instead of merely asking if the pilot had seen the plane.
“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 period of 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?”
Following the collision, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded all flights at Reagan National Airport, with operations expected to resume only after 11:00 AM (1600 GMT) on Thursday.
Aviation experts are now scrutinizing how a modern passenger aircraft equipped with collision-avoidance technology could collide with a military helicopter in such a tightly controlled airspace. Washington’s airspace, known for its congestion, often sees both civilian and military aircraft flying at low altitudes, making the investigation into this tragic accident all the more critical.
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