More than 40 bodies recovered from DC plane crash wreckage in Potomac River, investigation underway

Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are in the initial stages of what’s setting up to be a sprawling and consequential probe into a deadly, midair crash between a regional passenger jet and a military helicopter just outside D.C. and Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia.

The crash killed 67 people, including 60 passengers and four crew members on an American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, to Reagan National. The three soldiers aboard the Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided with the passenger jet also died.

Thursday was the first full day the NTSB’s team had access to the crash site, as investigators made way for search and dive teams in the Potomac River on Wednesday night. Close to 50 members of the NTSB were on scene, combing through the wreckage left from an aviation disaster that unfolded just a mile away from the board’s D.C. headquarters.

‘All hands on deck’ investigation underway

“This is an all hands on deck event. And we’re here to assure the American people that we are going to leave no stone unturned in this investigation. We are going to conduct a thorough investigation of this entire tragedy, looking at the facts,” NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said during a news conference Thursday.

NTSB accident investigations are thorough, and typically take at least a year to complete, at which point the board will issue its final report. In the mean time, NTSB member Todd Inman said the board will work on issuing a preliminary report within 30 days.

Inman, who’s serving as the board member on scene for this investigation, said its investigative team will be at the crash site for as long as it takes to collect all the evidence and facts that are needed to reach a conclusion of probable cause.

“Our mission is to understand not just what happened, but why it happened, and to recommend changes to prevent it from happening again,” Inman said.

During the meeting, NTSB said flight data recorders, often referred to as black boxes, had not yet been recovered from the plane and helicopter involved, but Homendy and Inman said they’re confident teams will be able to retrieve them. Hours later, agency spokesperson Peter Knudson said investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder from the Bombardier CRJ700 airplane, and both were sent to the agency’s labs for evaluation.

Black Hawks are equipped with such recording devices, Inman said, and they’ll be analyzed by either the Department of Defense or NTSB as part of the investigation.

The body of the plane was found in waist-deep water, upside down and split in three sections. The wreckage of the helicopter was also found. The body’s of both aircraft will also be important in the investigation, according to William Waldock, professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

He said he believes the debris will be taken to a hangar and reassembled in order to give investigators more insight into the impact and what led to the crash.

“That visual reconstruction may reveal some things about the ability of the two pilots to see each other,” Waldock said.

Debris from the crash could wind up miles and miles away, if it was carried by the Potomac River, according to Waldock.

“You may find pieces down in Virginia Beach weeks or months from now,” he said.

Anyone who finds debris should not touch it and instead call their local police department, Waldock said.

According to Inman, the NTSB also received a “very large” package of information, which includes relevant air traffic control data, from the FAA on Thursday morning.

“That is still being reviewed and analyzed. I would say there’s a lot more information that usually comes in that than what you might find online, and people might speculate about, and that is part of that overall process where we take the time to get the information correct,” Inman said.

‘No survivors,’ recovery operation continues

Passengers on the plane included members of U.S. Figure Skating and of a D.C.-area union, UA Local 602, which represents people who work on heating, air conditioning, refrigeration and process piping.

Three soldiers were on board the Black Hawk helicopter when it collided with the passenger jet, which was preparing to land on Runway 33 at Reagan National. Officials said the bodies of all three have been recovered. 

A law enforcement source told WTOP that, as of 5:30 p.m. Thursday, “well over” 40 bodies had been recovered from the icy waters of the Potomac River and that, while recovery operations are continuing Thursday night, divers won’t be back in the water until Friday.

The soldiers involved, military officials said, were conducting a training mission in the helicopter from the 12th Aviation Battalion at Davison Army Airfield in Fort Belvoir. The crew collided with the jet, a Bombardier CRJ700, just after 8:45 p.m. Wednesday.

Both aircraft plunged into the icy Potomac River below, setting off a large-scale rescue mission involving boats, dive teams and a horde of other first responders.

Timeline of events

WTOP Aviation Reporter Dan Ronan provided a partial reconstruction of the Wednesday events that led to the crash, based on initial flight maps and air traffic control audio:

  • 5:18 p.m. — American Airlines Flight 5342, a CRJ 700, takes off from Wichita, Kansas, bound for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
  • 8:39:40 p.m. — Army UH-60 helicopter out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia, takes off on a training exercise with three people aboard, flying up the Potomac River from the area of Langley.
  • 8:40 p.m. — Flight 5342 begins approaching Reagan National’s Runway 33 from the south of D.C.
  • 8:48:38 p.m. — Air traffic control tower radios the U.S. Army UH-60 helicopter (PAT25) and asks, “Do you have the CRJ in sight?” The helicopter pilot confirms he sees the passenger plane and requests “visual separation” — confirming he is going to try to fly out of the plane’s path.
  • 8:48:56 p.m. — Flight 5342 and the helicopter collide over the Potomac at an altitude of about 300 feet, as the plane was traveling about 145 mph, per the last recordings from FlightRadar24.

The Associated Press and WTOP’s Mike Murillo contributed to this report.

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Thomas Robertson

Thomas Robertson is an Associate Producer and Web Writer/Editor at WTOP. After graduating in 2019 from James Madison University, Thomas moved away from Virginia for the first time in his life to cover the local government beat for a small daily newspaper in Zanesville, Ohio.

The crash site with an American Airlines plane taking off and an American flag in the background
The view of the crash site with an American Airlines plane taking off and an American flag in the background. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)
Aircraft Down
Search efforts are seen around a wreckage site of a deadly midair collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter, in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Investigators continue recovery efforts
Investigators continue recovery efforts in the waters of the Potomac River after American Airlines flight 5342 collided mid-air late January 29 with a US Army helicopter as the plane approached to land at Reagan National Airport, near Washington, DC, on January 31, 2025. Investigators on January 30 recovered the black boxes from the plane. The accident killed all 67 people, as rescuers pulled bodies from the freezing water. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP) (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
U.S. Park Police helicopter flies near the crash site
A U.S. Park Police helicopter flies near the crash site of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after the plane crashed last night on approach to Reagan National Airport on Jan. 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided in midair with a military helicopter while approaching the airport. According to reports there were no survivors amongst the 67 people on board both aircraft. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)
D.C. police help investigate near the crash site
D.C. police help investigate near the crash site of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after the plane crashed last night on approach to Reagan National Airport on Jan. 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided in midair with a military helicopter while approaching the airport. According to reports there were no survivors amongst the 67 people on board both aircraft. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Ken Schantz takes in the scene near where emergency response units search the crash site
Ken Schantz takes in the scene near where emergency response units search the crash site of an American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after an accident last night while on approach to Reagan National Airport on Jan.30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided midair with a military Black Hawk helicopter while on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. According to reports, there were no survivors among the 67 people on both aircraft. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Emergency response units search near the crash site
Emergency response units search near the crash site of an American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after an accident last night while on approach to Reagan National Airport on Jan. 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided midair with a military Black Hawk helicopter while on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. According to reports, there were no survivors among the 67 people on both aircraft. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
A Coast Guard boat near the crash site
A Coast Guard boat near the crash site of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after the plane crashed on approach to Reagan National Airport on Jan. 30, 2025 in Washington, D.C. The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided in midair with a military helicopter while approaching the airport. According to reports, there were no survivors amongst the 67 people on board both aircraft. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
Aircraft Down
The wreckage site in the Potomac River with the view of the U.S. Capitol in the background, early Thursday morning, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Law enforcement setup staging area
Law enforcement setup a staging area as they continue their investigation into the American Airlines plane that crashed into the Potomac River as it was attempting to land at the Reagan National Airport on January 30, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, collided in midair with a military helicopter while approaching the airport. According to reports, there were no survivors amongst the 67 people on board both aircraft. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
Search and rescue efforts
A view of the search and rescue efforts around the wreckage site from Reagan National Airport, early Thursday morning, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Rescue crews riding on boats
Two rescue crews riding on boats around the wreckage site in the Potomac River from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, early Thursday morning, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Part of the wreckage is seen as rescue crews search the waters of the Potomac River after a passenger plane on approach to Reagan National Airport crashed into the river after colliding with a U.S. Army helicopter, near D.C., on Jan. 30, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Emergency crews respond to aircraft crash near Reagan National Airport
Emergency response units search the crash site of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after the plane crashed on approach to Reagan National Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
A view inside Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, currently closed to all flights, after a passenger plane on approach to Reagan National Airport crashed into the river after colliding with a U.S. Army helicopter, in Arlington, Virginia, on Jan. 30, 2025.  (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
"Emergency Alert" signs
Signs display an “Emergency Alert” at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Thursday morning. (WTOP/John Domen)
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks during a press conference as emergency response units continue to search the crash site of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
Muriel Bowser speaks at news conference
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks at a news conference at Reagan National Airport on Thursday morning. (WTOP/John Domen)
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) speaks during a press conference as emergency response units continue to search the crash site of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River on Jan. 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy speaks during a press conference as emergency response units continue to search the crash site of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River on Jan. 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
Part of the wreckage is seen as rescue boats search the waters of the Potomac River after a plane on approach to Reagan National Airport crashed into the river near D.C., on Jan. 30, 2025. (Photo by Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Aircraft Down
Search and rescue efforts are seen around a wreckage site in the Potomac River from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, early Thursday morning, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va., past the tail of a parked United Airlines jet. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Aircraft Down
People arrive to check on passengers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Aircraft Down
Rescue boats work the scene on the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
APTOPIX Aircraft Down
A view of emergency response looking from Arlington, Virginia, south of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, across the Potomac River toward the District of Columbia, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Shadows of people standing near water on Daingerfield Island
A look of the crash from the dock of Daingerfield Island in Virginia. (WTOP/Mike Murillo)
A diving team and police boat are seen around a wreckage site in the Potomac River from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va.
A diving team and police boat are seen around a wreckage site in the Potomac River from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
In this image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, wreckage is seen in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Washington.
In this image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, wreckage is seen in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Washington. (Petty Officer 2nd Class Taylor Bacon, U.S. Coast Guard via AP)
In this image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, wreckage is seen in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Washington.
In this image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, wreckage is seen in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Washington. (Petty Officer 2nd Class Taylor Bacon, U.S. Coast Guard via AP)
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The crash site with an American Airlines plane taking off and an American flag in the background
Aircraft Down
Investigators continue recovery efforts
U.S. Park Police helicopter flies near the crash site
D.C. police help investigate near the crash site
Ken Schantz takes in the scene near where emergency response units search the crash site
Emergency response units search near the crash site
A Coast Guard boat near the crash site
Aircraft Down
Law enforcement setup staging area
Search and rescue efforts
Rescue crews riding on boats
Emergency crews respond to aircraft crash near Reagan National Airport
"Emergency Alert" signs
Muriel Bowser speaks at news conference
Aircraft Down
Aircraft Down
Aircraft Down
APTOPIX Aircraft Down
Shadows of people standing near water on Daingerfield Island
A diving team and police boat are seen around a wreckage site in the Potomac River from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va.
In this image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, wreckage is seen in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Washington.
In this image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, wreckage is seen in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Washington.
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