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The US government has confirmed that a tragic midair collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter has resulted in the deaths of all 67 people onboard both aircraft.
The details: According to US officials, the midair collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a US Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter occurred on Wednesday night near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. American Eagle Flight 5342, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members from Wichita, Kansas, was on its final approach to the airport when it collided with the military helicopter at approximately 9PM. The Black Hawk, assigned to Bravo Company, 12th Aviation Battalion out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia, was conducting an annual proficiency training flight at the time. The collision resulted in an explosion, with both aircraft crashing into the Potomac River. Emergency responders arrived quickly, but despite their efforts, no one was able to saved. By Thursday morning, at least 28 bodies had been recovered, and authorities are continuing recovery efforts.
A multi-agency investigation is now underway, led by the Army, Pentagon, and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), with additional oversight from federal aviation authorities. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the Army unit responsible for the Black Hawk has been placed on a 48-hour operational pause as investigators examine key factors such as flight altitude, air traffic control communications, and possible pilot error.
Lingering questions: Officials are working to determine whether the helicopter was flying at the correct altitude and within its designated airspace. Aviation experts and military officials have raised concerns about why the Black Hawk was in the plane’s approach path and whether Reagan National Airport’s older air traffic control technology played a role. Investigators are also analyzing black box data, radar recordings, and communication logs from the moments before the collision to establish a clearer timeline of events.
What Trump is saying: During a press conference, President Trump criticized past administrations, particularly those of Presidents Obama and Biden, suggesting that their policies had weakened aviation safety standards. He claimed that the Democrats prioritized politics over safety, stating, “I put safety first. Obama, Biden, and the Democrats put policy first. And they put politics at a level that nobody’s ever seen.” Trump also linked the crash to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), arguing that such initiatives had compromised hiring standards.
Another view: Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg pushed back against Trump’s remarks, accusing him of politicizing the tragedy instead of focusing on the investigation and improving safety measures. In a post on X, Buttigieg wrote, “Despicable. As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying. We put safety first, drove down close calls, grew Air Traffic Control, and had zero commercial airline crash fatalities out of millions of flights on our watch.” He also criticized Trump for making sweeping claims about DEI programs without evidence, arguing that the president’s comments undermined trust in the ongoing investigation.
