On Jan. 29, 2025, at 8:48 p.m., 911 lines began to light up in Washington, D.C., and Arlington, Virginia. Callers were reporting an aircraft, maybe two in the water. Within 10 minutes, first-arriving units from the District of Columbia Fire and EMS Department (DCFEMS), accompanied by response units from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) confirmed at least one aircraft in the water. The airplane that laid in three pieces was found first, while a helicopter was identified later, partially submerged.
It was a crystal clear and crisp evening for incoming and outgoing flights at Washington’s Reagan National Airport, which is located in Arlington. The Potomac River was partially frozen, the result of the previous weeks’ frigid temperatures. At the time of the crash, temperatures hovered around 32 degrees F.
What we know
Here’s what we know about the crash at the time of this writing:
- A military Blackhawk helicopter on training maneuvers along the Potomac River collided with inbound American Airlines (AA) Flight 5342.
- The Blackhawk helicopter had a crew of three. This craft can carry up to 14 fully outfitted personnel, or up to 20 lightly outfitted passengers.
- The AA craft was the small/mid-size CRJ-700 with 60 passengers and four crewmembers on board. Depending on the seating configuration at the time of ordering, a CRJ-700 can hold up to 78 passengers and crew. By contrast, the typical American Airlines mid-long haul Boeing planes carry between 150 and 273.
- All 64 on board the AA craft have been declared deceased as well as the three crewmembers from the Blackhawk helicopter.
- At least 40 bodies have been recovered, including the three Blackhawk helicopter crewmembers.
- Audio recordings indicate that the Blackhawk acknowledged Air Traffic Control multiple times, and at their request, was granted “visual separation,” meaning the helicopter would take responsibility to maintain appropriate distance from the AA flight.
- The AA pilots had acknowledged their directions to use a shorter runway.
- Multiple surveillance videos captured the crash in real time.
Jurisdictional challenges
This area has unique jurisdictional challenges, with Washington’s National Airport located in Virginia, supported by an Airport Fire Department, and the Potomac River waters north of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge located in the District of Columbia territory.
The area is further complicated by the federal territories and restricted airspace around the White House and other locations. Fortunately, the National Capitol Region has a robust mutual-aid plan.
Response assets from D.C., Virginia, Maryland, MWAA and the military have to work in concert to avoid confusion and chaos. We will continue to follow the evolution of the command-and-control functions of this incident for future articles.
Airspace regulation
This is some of the busiest and most heavily regulated air space in the United States. Sandwiched between the much larger Washington Dulles and Baltimore/Washington international airports, Reagan National Airport also deals with routine presidential and military airspace restrictions. Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB) sits immediately east of National Airport, on the other side of the Potomac River. The only aircraft using JBAB are military helicopters. The U.S. Park Police helicopter (also a medical rescue asset) is based in this immediate area as well.
Response efforts and incident command
More than 300 emergency responders converged on the scene, with D.C., Virginia and Maryland fire department watercraft, all-terrain vehicles, and other response units assisting in the search.
A unified command post was initially established at JBAB in southwest D.C. A Virginia Division command post was established at National Airport. As the operation transitioned from a rescue to a recovery operation, the unified command post was moved to National Airport.
The unified command post at JBAB provided a secure site, which limited non-essential personnel access and prevented media from accessing the command post. Command and control in these kinds of events is challenging to say the least.
Maryland jurisdictions, including neighboring Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, along with the City of Baltimore, provided fill-in companies for D.C. fire stations during the incident. Surrounding jurisdictions from both states provided assistance to the scene through the existing automatic and local mutual-aid agreements from the outset of the incident.
Recovery efforts
Casualty and debris collection points have been established, with response crews now assisting the National Transportation Safety Board in that process. Understanding the currents of the river, debris and bodies are expected to make their way south along the Maryland and Virginia shorelines of the river. Fire departments have posted directions for residents and boaters to avoid touching the objects and to call 911 should they observe any debris or body parts. Reconnaissance teams will address those instances by boat if and when they occur.
It should be noted that DCFEMS reestablished its dive team approximately two years ago. Over the years, the region has had ups and downs with fire department dive team programs. At this incident, under the DCFEMS dive team leadership, multiple fire and law enforcement dive teams from around the National Capital Region spent 12 hours or more in freezing water, occasionally pelted by flowing ice. Crews continue to work with the NTSB with locating bodies and gathering floating aircraft parts.
Although rare, the Potomac River has claimed other aircraft over the years, most notably the 1982 Air Florida crash north of National Airport at the 14th Street Bridge. Seventy four people on the plane and four on the bridge perished in that incident. Five survivors were plucked from the water.
What’s next
The NTSB will lead the investigation into this crash. The Department of Defense will also be involved. DCFEMS and MWAA Fire Department will continue to assist.
A family information center has been established at National Airport. The airport reopened for flight operations around noon on Jan. 30.
