DeKalb GA News

Two new videos have emerged showing the collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and a PSA/American Airlines passenger plane near Reagan National Airport. The incident, which occurred on January 29, 2025, resulted in both aircraft crashing into the Potomac River on the Maryland side, just south of Washington, D.C.

The flight from Wichita, Kansas carried sixty passengers and four crew members. Meanwhile, the Army helicopter from Fort Belvoir, Virginia had three soldiers aboard for a training mission. There are no reports of survivors. Although no official confirmation has been provided, Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) suggested during a press briefing that all lives were lost.

The first video surfaced from independent journalist Alejandro Alvarez and was captured by a webcam at the Kennedy Center looking south toward the airport:

"Webcam at the Kennedy Center caught an explosion mid-air across the Potomac."

An unsourced video taken from Reagan's terminal also shows the collision:

"HORRIFIC FOOTAGE – SEE THE BLACKHAWK COLLIDE WITH THE AMERICA AIRLINES IN D.C."

A third unsourced video depicts a looped sequence of the collision:

"A recent video footage depicts an American Airlines flight colliding with a Black Hawk helicopter."

A longer version of Alvarez's video reveals more details about the collision course between the two aircraft:

"FULL plane/helicopter collide in Washington DC via the Kennedy Center EarthCam. Very strange incident."

Independent reporter Dave Statter received an eyewitness account shortly after the crash: "Basically I was west of the airport on my roof and had a clear view of the regional jet circling onto final for runway 33. From my perspective it looked like the helicopter crossed directly in front of the jet and there was a very brief fireball and I could hear the aircraft hit the water."

During an early morning press briefing with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, and Kansas Senators Roger Marshall (R) and Jerry Moran (R), Senator Marshall expressed his sorrow: “When many, many, many people die, it’s an unbearable sorrow. … It is such a tragedy that we lost them.”

Search and rescue officials have not yet confirmed any fatalities despite reports suggesting otherwise.