Multi-Agency Effort Underway to Recover Victims and Clear Wreckage

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is partnering with local, state, and federal agencies in response to a fatal midair collision between a commercial jet and a military helicopter over the Potomac River. The accident occurred at approximately 8:47 pm on January 29.

Coast Guard Sector Maryland’s National Capital Region received reports of the collision at 8:55 pm and immediately launched response efforts. Search and recovery operations are being deployed by Coast Guard boat crews from Washington, Curtis Bay, Annapolis, St. Inigoes, Oxford, and Crisfield. Coast Guard patrol boat Sailfish (WPB-87356), fast response cutter Nathan Bruckenthal (WPC-1128), inland construction tender Kennebec (WLIC-802), and buoy tender Frank Drew (WLM-557) are also en route to the scene.

The crash involved an American Airlines regional jet with 60 passengers and four crew members on board, on an approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) from Wichita, Kansas. The second aircraft, a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, was on a training flight from Fort Belvoir, Virginia with three soldiers. The collision resulted in both aircraft plunging into the Potomac River.

As of Thursday morning, emergency crews have recovered 28 bodies. Officials do not expect to find any survivors, and efforts have shifted to full recovery operations. Authorities have established a safety zone along the Potomac from the Woodrow Wilson Bridge northward, restricting all vessel traffic in the area. The Coast Guard has also issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast advising mariners to avoid the vicinity.

The Army and the National Transportation Safety Board have launched investigations into the cause of the crash. President Trump addressed the nation the following morning, stating: “As one nation we grieve for every precious soul that has been taken from us so suddenly. We are in mourning.”

The Coast Guard is also working with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Navy’s Supervisor of Salvage and Diving to remove the wreckage and restore the waterway. Pollution control crews have been mobilized in case of environmental hazards.

Operations are ongoing as authorities work to recover victims and determine the circumstances of the tragic accident.

FMI: www.uscg.mil