A jet with 60 passengers and four crew members aboard collided Wednesday night with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, in what is believed to be a mass casualty incident.
Here is everything we know so far.
Plane crashed into Army helicopter on descent to runway
American Airlines Flight 5342 was inbound to the airport at an altitude of about 400 feet and a speed of about 140 miles per hour when it suffered a rapid loss of altitude over the Potomac River, according to data from its radio transponder.
A few minutes before landing, air traffic controllers asked the arriving commercial jet if it could land on the shorter Runway 33 at Reagan National and the pilots said they were able.
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Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter if it had the arriving plane in sight.
The controller made another radio call to the helicopter moments later: "PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ." Seconds after that, the two aircraft collided.
“No survivors” officials say
Officials believe there are “no survivors” following the crash, as they have now confirmed a move from a rescue to recovery operation.
Chief of the Washington DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services department, John Donnelly, confirmed the switch at the press conference this afternoon (7.30am local time).
“We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” he said.
“At this point we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident.”
He confirmed 27 people from the plane and one person from the helicopter had been recovered from the water.
Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas said previously "when one person dies it's a tragedy, but when many, many, many people die it's an unbearable sorrow".
Authorities begin ‘recovery’ operation
Authorities have said that what was previously a rescue operation has now become a “recovery operation”, in a sign that there were no survivors from the crash.
Inflatable rescue boats had been launched into the Potomac River from a point along the George Washington Parkway, just north of the airport.
First responders also set up light towers from the shore to illuminate the area near the collision site.
World champion Russian figure skaters reported to be aboard crashed US plane
Russian figure skaters and coaches Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were aboard the plane, Russian state-run TASS news agency reported, citing a source.
Shishkova and Naumov, who were married, won the world championship in pairs figure skating in 1994.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Russian nationals were onboard the flight but did not name the couple.
He said in a statement: "Bad news from Washington today. We grieve and console with the families and friends who lost those of our fellow citizens who died in this plane crash."
US Figure Skating has confirmed that “several” members of its skating community were on board the American Airlines aircraft.
Army investigating incident
Pete Hegseth, sworn in days ago as defense secretary, posted on social media that an investigation has been "launched immediately" by the Army and the Defense Department.
The US Army described the helicopter as a UH-60 Blackhawk based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
It is said to have been on a training flight.
Military aircraft frequently conduct training flights in and around the congested and heavily-restricted airspace around the nation's capital for familiarisation and continuity of government planning.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said both the helicopter and the airplane had been flying normal flight patterns. "This was not unusual," he said.
Trump blames air traffic controllers and helicopter crew
President Donald Trump appeared to blame on the helicopter crew and air traffic controllers in a post on Truth Social.
"The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn't the helicopter go up or down, or turn," Trump wrote.
"Why didn't the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane. This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!"
But US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said both the helicopter and the airplane had been flying normal flight patterns. "This was not unusual," he said.
Community in mourning
A citywide vigil has been planned for 12pm local time on Thursday following the “enormous tragedy” which has befallen the community in Wichita.
The vigil has been organised by Kansas Aviation Museum and will take place in the Wichita City Council chambers.
An statement read: “Tonight our community and nation has suffered an enormous tragedy as American Airlines flight 5342 and a military helicopter collided in air.
“While we await news on the 64 souls on board the AA flight and 3 onboard the helicopters, our thoughts and prayers are with all affected by this tragedy as well as the aviation community.”
