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A devastating mid-air collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night resulted in multiple fatalities, prompting US President Donald Trump to question the circumstances surrounding the crash. The accident involved an American Airlines passenger jet carrying 64 passengers and crew and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter with three people on board. Both aircraft plunged into the Potomac River after impact, with emergency services recovering at least 18 bodies. No survivors have been found.
Trump, addressing the incident on Truth Social, raised concerns about the air traffic controllers and the helicopter crew. "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," he wrote.
Expressing disbelief over the sequence of events, he questioned why the helicopter did not take evasive action. "It is a clear night, the lights on the plane were blazing, 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? This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. Not good!!!"
Just 30 seconds before impact, a controller asked the helicopter pilot, "PAT25, do you have the CRJ in sight?" A follow-up transmission instructed, "PAT25, pass behind the CRJ." No response was received, and moments later, the two aircraft collided. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that the crash occurred around 9 p.m. EST as the regional jet from Wichita, Kansas, was making its final approach. Following the accident, all flights at Reagan National were grounded.
Authorities, including Washington's police, responded to the scene with multiple agencies coordinating rescue and recovery operations. US Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas described the incident as "nothing short of a nightmare," suggesting that all those onboard had likely perished. "It's really hard when you lose probably over 60 Kansans simultaneously," he said at a press conference. "When one person dies, it's a tragedy, but when many, many, many people die, it's an unbearable sorrow."
Investigations are underway, with the Pentagon confirming that the Black Hawk helicopter was engaged in a training mission. The FBI and other federal agencies are analysing air traffic control communications, flight paths, and pilot responses to determine what led to one of Washington, DC's deadliest aviation disasters in recent years.
