The first air crash of 2025 involving a passenger jet has taken place in Washington DC. An American Airlines regional jet carrying 64 people was on the approach to Ronald Reagan National Airport when it collided in mid-air with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday evening. Both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River.
All 67 people on board both aircraft are feared dead. The National Transportation Safety Board posted on X (formerly Twitter): “NTSB has launched a go-team to the aviation accident involving a PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 airplane and a Sikorsky H-60 military helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.”
All flights in and out of Reagan National have been paused until at least 11am on Thursday.
What is the airport situation in Washington DC?
Most international flights to the US capital arrive at Dulles airport, 20 miles west of the city centre. Other flights from abroad touch down at Baltimore Washington, 30 miles north east.
Ronald Reagan National airport is most unusual. It opened in 1941 very close to the centre of Washington – the northern perimeter is just three miles south of the White House. Being so close, the airport is popular with many travellers: the management says: “Our Runway 01/19 is the busiest in the country.”
In normal operations, the airport handles up to 60 flights per hour. The stipulation is that “mainline” airlines have a maximum of 37 flights; commuter jets, 11; private aircraft 12.
The airport says: “All aircraft movements are solely controlled through the FAA National Airspace System, including the design and implementation of flight procedures and corridors.”
As a result of the proximity to the heart of government, air-traffic control is taken extremely seriously. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 – which included a plane being flown into the Pentagon – the airport was closed for 23 days.
What do we know about the aircraft involved?
It was a CRJ-701ER commuter jet operated by PSA Airlines. The type has not been involved in any previous fatal accidents.
PSA is a subsidiary of American Airlines which operates smaller aircraft on regional flights – a standard arrangement among big US carriers.
The aircraft was 20 years old and fitted with 65 seats. It normally carries two pilots and two cabin crew, which was the case with…
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