Whereas driving residence Wednesday night time on the George Washington Parkway close to Ronald Reagan Nationwide Airport, Ari Shulman stated a “spray of sparks” within the sky caught his consideration as he watched in horror the midair collision between American Airways Flight 5342 and a U.S. Military Black Hawk helicopter unfold.
Authorities stated Thursday that the crash shattered the regional commuter airplane into items because it and the army helicopter plummeted into the icy Potomac River, killing everybody aboard each plane — 67 victims mixed.
“I regarded again and [the plane] was banked all the way in which to the fitting … it was illuminated yellow beneath and there was a sprig of sparks on the underside,” Schulman instructed ABC Information chief nationwide correspondent Byron Pitts.
Safety video launched shortly after the crash confirmed Shulman’s description of the primary main U.S. air catastrophe in almost 16 years.
A part of the wreckage is seen as rescue boats search the waters of the Potomac River after a airplane on method to Reagan Nationwide Airport crashed into the river outdoors Washington, DC, on January 30, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-reynolds/AFP through Getty Photos
Video footage confirmed Flight 5342 with 60 passengers and 4 crew members aboard making its closing method to Reagan Nationwide when it was struck by a Black Hawk helicopter touring south with a flight crew of three.
“I knew one thing was very fallacious as a result of it was very, very near the bottom — banked all the way in which to the fitting,” Shulman of Alexandria, Virginia, stated.
He stated he glanced on the highway for only a second.
“I regarded again once more and it was gone,” Shulman stated. “I did not see any crash into the bottom. I did not see a fireball, an explosion, or flames.”
Rescue boats search the waters of the Potomac River after a airplane on method to Reagan Nationwide Airport crashed into the river outdoors Washington, DC, January 30, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-reynolds/AFP through Getty Photos
Hearth Chief John Donnelly of the Washington D.C. Hearth Division stated at a information convention Thursday morning that an American Airways airplane, operated by its subsidiary PSA Airways, was discovered “inverted” in three items in waist-high water of the Potomac. He stated the helicopter was found close by.
“At this level, we do not imagine there are any survivors from this accident,” Donnelly stated.
Donnelly stated the search-and-rescue mission was not a search-and-recovery operation. He stated 27 our bodies had been recovered from the airplane and one from the helicopter.
Donnelly stated that at 8:48 p.m. native time, the management tower at Reagan Nationwide despatched out an alert of a airplane crash.
“In a short time, the decision escalated,” Donnelly stated.
He stated 300 first responders raced to the river in a determined try to search out survivors, which might show futile. Inside 10 minutes, the primary emergency unit arrived on the grisly scene, surveying the wreckage of each plane within the Potomac River.
“The water that we’re working in is about 8 ft deep,” Donnelly instructed reporters on the somber early-morning briefing. “There may be wind … items of ice on the market, so it is simply harmful and onerous to work in. And since there’s not numerous lights, you are on the market looking each sq. inch of house to see if you could find anyone.”
He added, “Divers are doing the identical factor within the water. The water is darkish, it’s murky, and that could be a very robust situation for them to dive in.”
An info display in Reagan Nationwide Airport’s empty baggage declare space shows emergency directions after a airplane crashed into the Potomac River outdoors Washington, DC, January 29, 2025.
Ulysse Bellier/AFP through Getty Photos
In the meantime, the medical staffs of three main Washington, D.C., hospitals stated they had been ready to deal with victims, however because the minutes was hours, no ambulances arrived from the crash web site with sufferers.
From the banks of the Potomac, search helicopters had been seen probing the water with searchlights as fireplace boats made journeys forwards and backwards by the icy Potomac, transporting what gave the impression to be particles from the crash, together with suitcases.
Inside, the normally bustling airport was eerily quiet Wednesday night. The departure and arrivals boards had been almost clean.
Jack Potter, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, stated some members of the family had been ready to choose up family members earlier than the crash, and American Airways had arrange a middle within the airline’s lounge for members of the family.
