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By Lex Harvey and Rebekah Riess, CNN
(CNN) — Officials believe there are no survivors after a passenger plane on approach to Reagan National Airport near Washington, DC, collided Wednesday night with a US Army helicopter midair, sending both aircraft into the Potomac River below, a DC fire official said.

First responders have recovered 27 bodies from the plane and one from the helicopter, Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly said at a news conference Thursday morning. There were 64 people on board the plane and the three soldiers in the Army helicopter, according to DC Mayor Muriel Bowser.

“We are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” Donnelly said. “At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident.”

Recovery effort underway at crash site in Potomac River. Image from CNN Newsource.

Here’s what we know about the crash, which is the deadliest aviation disaster in the US in more than two decades.

What happened?
The passenger plane was American Airlines Flight 5342, operated by PSA Airlines, traveling from Wichita, Kansas, to Reagan National, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

The Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet was due to land at the airport Wednesday night when it collided midair with the US Army helicopter as it approached Runway 33, according to the FAA and defense officials.

Flight records showed the plane was expected to land around 9 p.m. local time. DC Police said it received calls at 8:53 p.m. about “an aircraft crash above the Potomac River.”

The 12th Aviation Battalion, based out of Fort Belvoir in Virginia, provides helicopter transportation and “technical rescue support” to the National Capital Region.

“Last night, the helicopter was in a standard pattern … The American Airlines flight coming in to land was in a standard flight pattern as it was coming into DCA. So this was not unusual,” newly sworn-in Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said.

“At this time, we don’t know why the military aircraft came into the path of the PSA aircraft,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said Thursday morning.

The Black Hawk helicopter was on an annual proficiency training flight, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said.

The 12th Aviation Battalion is currently on an operational pause, Hegseth said, until what happened is reviewed. An investigation will seek to determine whether the helicopter was in the proper corridor and at the right altitude at the time of the incident, he said.

A video of the crash filmed by EarthCam shows what appears to be the helicopter and plane colliding in the sky, resulting in a fiery explosion.

Ari Schulman said he was driving home when he witnessed the collision.

“Initially I saw the plane and it looked fine. Normal. It was right about to head over land, maybe 120 feet above the water,” Schulman told CNN. Seconds later, the plane “was banked all the way to the right… past 90 degrees.”

“I could see the underside of it. It was lit up a very bright yellow, and there was a stream of sparks underneath it” and then everything went dark, he said.

The airspace over Reagan National Airport is among the busiest in the country, and passenger planes frequently share the airspace with helicopters.

Air traffic controller audio obtained by CNN from LiveATC.net captured air traffic control operators directing the helicopter to pass behind the passenger plane.

An air traffic controller said, “PAT 2-5 do you have the CRJ in sight?”

The controller then said, “PAT 2-5 pass behind the CRJ.”

Additional air traffic control audio shortly before the collision captures the helicopter pilot saying, “PAT 2-5 has aircraft in sight, request visual separation.”

Less than 13 seconds later, the audio then captured audible gasps, including a loud “oooh” in the background apparently from the tower, at the moment of the crash.

All takeoffs and landings were halted at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport until 11 a.m. local time Thursday, when the airport was expected to resume flight operations. However, airport authorities are directing passengers to check with airlines about canceled or delayed flights.

How many people were on board?
There were 60 passengers and four crew on board the flight, American Airlines told CNN. The US Army helicopter had a crew of three and was not carrying any VIPs, according to a US defense official.

Wednesday’s collision is the deadliest aviation disaster in the US since November 12, 2001, when an American Airlines flight crashed in New York, killing all 260 people on board.

The Pentagon is withholding the names and ranks of the Black Hawk’s crew members until next of kin are notified, Hegseth said – though National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told Fox News the crew included one officer, a warrant officer and a crew chief.

“It was a fairly experienced crew that was doing an annual required night evaluation,” Hegseth said. “They did have night vision goggles.”

The two pilots aboard American Airlines Flight 5342 were not newcomers to complex commercial flight, the company’s CEO said.

“These are experienced pilots,” said Isom. “I know that the captain had … almost six years with PSA (Airlines), and the first officer almost two years.”

Officials in Wichita, Kansas, do not know how many of the passengers were local residents and how many were traveling through the city, they said at a news conference Thursday. “We don’t have the manifest at this moment,” said Wichita Mayor Lily Wu.

The manifest, managed by American Airlines, will be disseminated through their official sources and the National Transportation Safety Board, said Director of Airports in Wichita Jesse Romo.

Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran described the crash as “a very personal circumstance” for Kansans. “We’re going to know people who are on this flight, know their family members,” Moran said in a press conference.

American Airlines has set up a center at the airport and shared a toll-free number and said family of people who were onboard Flight 5342 should call 1-800-679-8215 for information.

“Several members” of the US figure skating community were on board the flight after participating in events related to the US Figure Skating Championships in Kansas, the national governing body of the sport confirmed. They included a married pair of skating champions, two young skaters and two of their mothers, the Skating Club of Boston said Thursday.

Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were the 1994 world figure skating champions in pairs. They represented Russia but moved to the US, where they launched successful coaching careers. Their son, Maxim Naumov, just won fourth place at the US men’s figure skating championships last weekend.

Skater Jinna Han and her mother, Jin Han, were also killed, along with skater Spencer Lane and his mother Christine Lane, the club said.

What do we know about the recovery efforts?
There are not believed to be any survivors from the midair collision over the Potomac River, and rescuers are now conducting a recovery operation, Donnelly said.

“It’s a highly complex operation. The conditions out there are extremely rough,” John Donnelly, DC Fire and EMS Chief said, but added that officials are confident they will recover all bodies of those killed.

About 300 first responders are battling cold and windy conditions as they work to recover those bodies from the Potomac River in near-freezing temperatures.

The section of the river divers are working in is about 8 feet deep, dark and murky with floating pieces of ice, Donnelly said, adding search efforts will likely take days.

Temperatures in the river are currently hovering around 35 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Sudden immersion in such frigid water, known as cold shock, can trigger immediate physiological responses such as uncontrolled gasping, rapid breathing or hyperventilation, according to the National Weather Service.

The dangers escalate with prolonged exposure. Hypothermia begins when the body’s core temperature falls to 95 degrees, a process that can start within moments in water this cold.

In 35-degree water, individuals may lose dexterity in as little as three minutes, with unconsciousness occurring within 15 to 30 minutes, according to the weather service. Survival times in such conditions are estimated to range between 30 and 90 minutes.

What has the Trump administration said?
President Donald Trump was “fully briefed” on the collision and was “monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise,” he said in a statement.

“May God Bless their souls,” Trump said of the victims. “Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders.”

In a separate post on Truth Social, Trump called the crash “a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented.” It was not clear what information his post was based on.

“We are going to wait for all the information to come in from from this vantage point, but to back up what the President said, what I’ve seen so far – do I think this was preventable? Absolutely,” said Duffy, the transportation secretary.

Vice President JD Vance asked for prayers for “everyone involved in the mid-air collision near Reagan airport” in a post to social media.