A regional jet and a U.S. military helicopter collided late Wednesday as the jet approached Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, Voice of America said.
A Federal Aviation Administration statement said the jet, operated by American Airlines, was traveling from Wichita, Kansas, and was approaching its landing runway when the collision with the Sikorsky H-60 helicopter occurred around 9 p.m.
Several hours into the emergency response, which included boats in the Potomac River adjacent to the airport, there was no information from authorities about casualties.
Officials said three U.S. Army soldiers were on the helicopter, which was conducting a training flight. American Airlines said in a statement there were 60 passengers and four crew members on the flight.
“We can confirm that the aircraft involved in tonight’s incident was an Army UH-60 helicopter out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia,” the Army said in a statement. “We are working with local officials and will provide additional information once it becomes available.”
Video of the crash captured from a camera at the nearby Kennedy Center shows two sets of lights converging before a fireball erupts. Data from the plane showed it was at an altitude of about 120 meters at the time of the collision.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform, “What a terrible night this has been.”
“It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane,” Trump said. “This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!”
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the situation “absolutely tragic.”
“Search and rescue efforts still ongoing. Prayers for all impacted souls, and their families,” Hegseth said on X.
U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, who represents Kansas, called the crash “nothing short of a nightmare.”
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said he and a team from the company were traveling to Washington to provide assistance.
"This is a difficult day for all of us at American airlines and our efforts now are focused entirely now on the needs of our passengers, crew members, partners, first responders, along with their families and loved ones,” Isom said in a video statement.
The last fatal U.S. passenger plane crash happened in 2009 in Buffalo, New York.