▲ Search and rescue efforts are seen around a wreckage site in the Potomac River from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport near Washington on Jan. 30, 2025, in this photo released by the Associated Press. (Yonhap)
▲ Washington D.C. Fire Chief John Donnelly addresses the media after American Eagle flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed into the Potomac River, in Washington, on Jan. 30, 2025, in this photo released by Reuters. (Yonhap)

passenger plane-collision

No survivors expected from tragic D.C. plane crash: authorities

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (Yonhap) -- U.S. authorities said Thursday that no survivors are expected to be found from a tragic plane crash near Reagan Washington National Airport just outside of Washington, as they were shifting to a recovery operation from a rescue operation in the Potomac River.

A PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet, which was traveling from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington with 64 people on board -- collided in midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter at around 9 p.m. on Wednesday while approaching the runway, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and the airline. PSA is an American Airlines subsidiary.

"We are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation," District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief John Donnelly told a press conference. "We don't believe there are any survivors from this accident."

The authorities have recovered 27 bodies from the plane and one from the helicopter, the official said. The chopper is reported to have been carrying three people at the time of the collision.

"The district office of the medical examiner has the lead on reuniting these bodies and these people with their loved ones, and we will continue to work to find all the bodies and collect them and reunite them with their loved ones," Donnelly said.

The official noted that some 300 responders were involved in a frantic search-and-rescue operation in "extremely frigid conditions."

"They found heavy wind. They found ice on the water and they operated all night in these conditions," he said.

Among the passengers on the ill-fated plane were figure skaters returning from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and two of their Russian coaches, according to the Associated Press (AP).

"We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims' families closely in our hearts," U.S. Figure Skating was quoted by AP as saying in a statement.

President Donald Trump has been closely monitoring the situation, saying that it "looks like it should have been prevented."

"The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. 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 on Truth Social.

"Why didn't the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane."

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