United States - January 30, 2025 A passenger plane carrying 60 people collided with a Black Hawk military helicopter on approach to a Washington DC airport on Wednesday, authorities said, as search and rescue operations got underway around the Potomac River. "A PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700…
ARLINGTON, Va. — Police boats combed the banks of the Potomac River on Friday, slowly scanning the shoreline under rainy skies as investigators sought clues into the midair collision that killed 67 people.
Investigators announced that the black box from the Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided with a commercial jetliner was recovered. They are reviewing the flight data recorder along with two from the plane as they probe the cause of the devastating crash.
No one survived the Wednesday night collision between the commercial airliner and an Army helicopter. The remains of 41 people were pulled from the river as of Friday afternoon, including 28 that were positively identified, Washington, D.C., Fire Chief John Donnelly Sr. said at a news conference.
He said he expects the remains of all 67 people who died to eventually be recovered.
The wreckage of the plane's fuselage will probably have to be pulled from the water to get all the bodies, he said.
"This is heartbreaking work," Donnelly said, noting more than 300 responders were taking part in the effort at any one time. "It's been a tough response for a lot of our people."
It was unclear how long the recovery operation would take. Crash debris drifted miles downriver.
"We're working as fast as we can," he said. "We need your patience."
Though Ronald Reagan National Airport reopened, two of its three runways remain closed to keep aircraft from flying over the crash scene while taking off or landing, said Terry Liercke, the airport's vice president and manager. About 100 flights were canceled Friday.
Officials also heavily restricted helicopter traffic around the airport, an official said, hours after President Donald Trump claimed in a social media post that the Army Black Hawk was flying higher than its allowed limit.
Investigators previously recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder of the American Airlines jetliner, which collided with the chopper as the plane was coming in for a landing at the airport, which is just across the Potomac from Washington.
The flight data recorder was in good condition and its information was expected to be downloaded shortly, National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman told reporters. He said water entered the cockpit voice recorder, and while that’s not unusual, it adds to investigators’ work.
The helicopter’s data, contained in a single black box, was at NTSB headquarters and appears to be undamanged, Inman said.
Investigators are examining the actions of the military pilot as well as air traffic control, after the helicopter apparently flew into the jet's path. NTSB investigations normally take at least a year, though investigators hope to have a preliminary report within 30 days.
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Investigators said Thursday they wouldn't speculate on the cause.
Military aircraft frequently conduct training flights in and around the capital to practice routes they would fly if key government officials had to be quickly moved during a major catastrophe or attack.
Other potential factors in the crash, including the helicopter’s altitude and whether the crew was using night vision goggles, are still under investigation, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News Channel.
On Friday the Army released the names of two of the soldiers who died: Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia, the crew chief; and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland. Eaves was one of the pilots on the helicopter.
In an unusual move, the name of the third soldier is not being released for now at the family’s request, the Army said.
The FAA on Friday barred helicopters from flying over a roughly 6-mile stretch of the Potomac and parts of its shoreline, including over the airport, according to the Department of Transportation. The new limits exempt helicopters on emergency medical flights, active law enforcement and air defense missions, and carrying the president. They are expected to remain in place at least until the NTSB finishes its preliminary report.
Officials said flight conditions were clear as the jet arrived from Wichita, Kansas.
One air traffic controller was responsible for coordinating helicopter traffic and arriving and departing planes when the collision happened, according to an FAA report obtained by The Associated Press. Those duties are often divided between two people, but the airport typically combines the roles at 9:30 p.m. once traffic begins to slow down. On Wednesday, the tower supervisor directed that they be combined earlier.
"The position configuration was not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic," the report said.
A person familiar with the matter, however, said the tower staffing that night was at a normal level. The positions are regularly combined when controllers need to step away from the console for breaks, during shift changes or when air traffic is slow, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The FAA has long struggled with a shortage of air traffic controllers.
Jonathan Koziol, chief of staff for Army aviation, said the helicopter crew was "very experienced" and familiar with the congested flying that occurs daily around the city.
The helicopter's maximum allowed altitude at the time was 200 feet, Koziol said. It was not immediately clear whether it exceeded that limit.
Passenger jet collides with Army helicopter while landing at Reagan Washington National Airport
An American Airlines plane prepares to land Friday at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport as crosses are seen in a makeshift memorial for the victims of Wednesday's plane crash in Arlington, Va.
Search efforts are seen Friday around a wreckage site of a deadly midair collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va., as an American Airlines jet lifts off from the airport.
Emergency vehicles and recovery operations are seen Friday near the mouth of the Anacostia River at the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington.