3 soldiers on Black Hawk helicopter involved in DC airliner crash

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Retired airplane captain breaks down investigation into DC aircraft collision

Captain Mike Coffield, who ran the TWA 800 investigation, joined ‘Fox & Friends First’ to discuss how officials will conduct the probe after a military helicopter collided with a commercial flight in Washington, D.C.

The Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided with a passenger jet coming in for a landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington Wednesday night had three soldiers on board, Fox News has learned. 

The three soldiers aboard the Black Hawk when it crashed have not been publicly identified, but the helicopter was not carrying any VIPs or senior officials, an Army official told Fox News. 

Fox News also confirmed newly sworn-in Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was not involved in the incident. 

Hegseth was at the White House shortly before the crash and is actively monitoring the situation. 

AMERICAN AIRLINES PLANE, ARMY HELICOPTER COLLIDE OUTSIDE REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT NEAR WASHINGTON DC

A helicopter uses a spotlight on the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The helicopter had flown out of Davidson Air Base at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and crashed while performing a training mission, Army officials said. 

Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling also sits across the river from Reagan National Airport.

The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. 

Modified versions have also been developed for the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. The Black Hawk can carry up to 15 people, including two pilots, two crew chiefs and two rescue specialists. 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said a PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet collided in midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on approach to Runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 p.m. 

American Airlines Flight 5342 had departed from Wichita, Kansas, and had 60 passengers and four crew members on board. 

Multiple fatalities have been reported, and no survivors are expected, as officials said they have moved from a rescue to a recovery operation.

A boat works the scene near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Passengers on the flight included a group of figure skaters, their coaches and family members who were returning from a development camp that followed the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.

“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts,” U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement.

AMERICAN FIGURE SKATING MEMBERS, RUSSIAN OLYMPIANS ABOARD PLANE IN REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT CRASH

Two of those coaches were identified by the Kremlin as Russian figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the pairs title at the 1994 world championships and competed twice in the Olympics. The Skating Club of Boston lists them as coaches and their son, Maxim Naumov, is a competitive figure skater for the U.S.

The crash occurred in some of the most tightly controlled and monitored airspace in the world, just over three miles south of the White House and the Capitol.

Audio from air traffic control at Reagan airport captured Flight 5342 being told to use Runway 33 until air traffic controllers realize something has happened and start telling other aircraft to land or divert.

Rescue workers respond to the scene on the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va.  (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

“Everybody hold your positions on the field right now,” air traffic control says. “Fire command. The accident happened in the river. Both the helicopter and the plane crashed in the river[.]”

“It was probably out in the middle of the river. I just saw a fireball, and then it was just gone,” an air traffic controller says. “I haven’t seen anything since they hit the river. But it was a CRJ and a helicopter that hit.” 

PSA Airlines is a subsidiary of American Airlines, American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating, and the NTSB is leading the probe. 

The route of the flight that crashed is fairly new. Direct flights from Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport to Ronald Reagan National Airport started Jan. 8, 2024, Jesse Romo, Wichita Airport Authority Director of Airports, said.

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“I know that flight. I’ve flown it several times myself,” Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas, R-Kansas, told the Associated Press. He said he expected that many people in Wichita would know people who were on the flight.

“This is a very personal circumstance,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on X: @danimwallace.