All passengers and crew members aboard the American Airlines flight are presumed to have perished, along with three military personnel who were on board the Sikorsky UH-60 helicopter involved in the collision.
The pilots of the Bombardier CRJ700 requested permission to land on Runway 33 at approximately midnight local time. Air traffic controllers granted clearance, and the aircraft began its descent. Just minutes later, it reached the same altitude as the U.S. military helicopter and collided with it.
According to eyewitness accounts, the Bombardier flipped more than 90 degrees during its fall before crashing into the water.
Following the accident, all aircraft circling the Washington airport were ordered to abort their landings and enter a holding pattern. Departures were canceled. Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which operates under the U.S. Department of Transportation, announced that the airport would remain closed until 5:00 AM on January 31.
Many bodies remain missing, and all passengers and crew members on board the Bombardier CRJ700 are presumed dead. Among the victims were figure skating coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.
U.S. President Donald Trump described the night as "the most horrific in recent years". He questioned why the helicopter crew failed to see the plane's lights and why air traffic controllers did not instruct the military aircraft to change course, descend, or climb to avoid a collision.
Shortly after, radio transmissions were released, revealing that the Sikorsky UH-60 crew failed to respond to warnings from air traffic controllers.
At least 14 figure skaters were aboard the American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas. According to U.S. national team member John Maravilla, several coaches were also on board, including Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.
Local media now report that the death toll has risen to 60. Preliminary reports suggest that Inna Volyanskaya, a coach for Ashburn Ice House in Virginia, may also have been on board.
Many of the figure skaters on the flight were children of Russian emigrants who had traveled to compete in the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Below is a list of skaters who may have been on the American Airlines flight from Wichita :
This aviation disaster in Washington could become the deadliest in the U.S. in the past 15 years.
The last major passenger plane crashes in the U.S. occurred more than a decade ago :
At least 300 personnel are involved in the ongoing search and recovery efforts at the crash site. The operation is expected to last several more hours due to severe weather conditions. The freezing waters of the Potomac River have further complicated the search.
A miscommunication between air traffic controllers and the military aircraft may have led to the tragedy. The Bombardier CRJ700 began its descent without transmitting a signal, while the military helicopter was flying at the same altitude, leading to the fatal collision.
The Potomac River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States that flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is 405 miles (652 km) long, with a drainage area of 14,700 square miles (38,000 km2), and is the fourth-largest river along the East Coast of the United States. More than 6 million people live within its watershed. The river forms part of the borders between Maryland and Washington, D.C., on the left descending bank, and West Virginia and Virginia on the right descending bank. Except for a small portion of its headwaters in West Virginia, the North Branch Potomac River is considered part of Maryland to the low-water mark on the opposite bank. The South Branch Potomac River lies completely within the state of West Virginia except for its headwaters, which lie in Virginia. All navigable parts of the river were designated as a National Recreation Trail in 2006, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) designated an 18-square-mile (47 km2) portion of the river in Charles County, Maryland, as the Mallows Bay–Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary in 2019.
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