A passenger jet and a Black Hawk helicopter collided midair Wednesday, crashing into the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. President Trump confirmed Thursday that there were no survivors, though many victims have yet to be publicly identified.

The aircraft involved were American Eagle Flight 5342, a regional jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members on a flight from Wichita, Kansas, and a U.S. Army Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk with three soldiers on board, according to a Defense Department official.

As of Thursday evening, at least 40 bodies had been recovered, a law enforcement source told CBS News.

Earlier, District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief John Donnelly stated that operations at the crash site had transitioned from rescue to recovery.

Earlier, District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief John Donnelly stated that the operation at the scene had shifted from rescue to recovery.

What took place?

American Eagle Flight 5342, operated by PSA Airlines, collided midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter around 9 p.m. Wednesday while approaching a runway at Reagan National Airport, according to the FAA. The flight had departed from Wichita, Kansas.

Both American Eagle and PSA Airlines are subsidiaries of American Airlines.

The helicopter, which was on a training flight, belonged to B Company, 12th Aviation Battalion, based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, Joint Task Force-National Capital Region media chief Heather Chairez told CBS News.

A livestream camera at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., captured the moment of impact. The verified footage, obtained by CBS News, shows an explosion over the Potomac River at 8:47 p.m. Eastern.

What we know about the search efforts.

D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly announced in a Thursday morning news briefing that 27 bodies had been recovered from the plane and one from the helicopter. He stated, “We don’t believe there are any survivors,” confirming that the operation had shifted from rescue to recovery.

“It’s a highly complex operation,” Donnelly added. “The conditions are extremely rough for responders—it’s cold, and they are facing relatively windy conditions.”

Emergency response units search the crash site in the Potomac River near Washington, D.C. on Jan. 30, 2025 after a passenger plane and Army helicopter collided near Reagan National Airport.KAYLA BARTKOWSKI / GETTY IMAGES

CBS News senior transportation and national correspondent Kris Van Cleave reported that human remains and debris were washing up along the Virginia side of the Potomac River.

According to Van Cleave, the plane broke into multiple pieces, now resting in 5 to 8 feet of water.

The NTSB confirmed that both the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder—commonly known as black boxes—have been recovered and will be analyzed at the NTSB lab, located about a mile from the crash site.

Divers have managed to access parts of the aircraft’s cabin, recovering various items, including luggage.

As for the helicopter, Van Cleave noted that it remains upside down but appears to be largely intact.

What we know about the victims of the plane crash.

Top figure skaters from Russia and the United States, including six individuals with ties to the Skating Club of Boston, were among the victims. The group included athletes Jinna Han and Spencer Lane, their mothers Jin Han and Christine Lane, and coaches Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, according to Doug Zeghibe, the club’s CEO and executive director. They were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the recent U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.

Spencer Lane’s father, Douglas Lane, told CBS affiliate WPRI that his 16-year-old son, who had only been skating for three years, was a “force of nature” and had progressed rapidly. Douglas also described his wife, Christine, as a creative and caring person with talents in graphic design, photography, and quilting.

Naumov and Shishkova, a couple from Russia, were former figure skaters who won the 1994 World Figure Skating Championship and had been coaching at the club. They shared a son, Maxim Naumov, who is a competitive skater with Team USA. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Naumov and Shishkova, along with other Russian nationals, were on board the flight.

Another victim, Asra Hussain Raza, had recently moved to Washington, D.C., for a consulting role and was traveling home from a work trip when the crash occurred. Her father-in-law, Hashim Raza, told CBS News that the 26-year-old was a graduate of the University of Indiana and Columbia University.

Additionally, four members of a Maryland-based labor union, Steamfitters United Association Local 602, were also on the flight. The union represents workers in the heating, air conditioning, refrigeration, and process piping industries in the D.C. Metro area.

The crew chief of the helicopter was identified as 29-year-old Ryan O’Hara, who was a husband and father to a 1-year-old son, according to his local Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program, which shared the news of his death in a social media post.

Politicians respond to the crash.

President Trump addressed the crash in a Thursday morning briefing at the White House, confirming that there were no survivors. “I speak to you this morning in an hour of anguish for our nation,” he said.

While expressing his condolences, the president also criticized the Biden administration, attacking diversity initiatives without providing any evidence linking these policies to the crash. Trump, who claimed to have raised standards within the aviation industry during his presidency, announced the appointment of Christopher Rocheleau as acting commissioner of the FAA. He added that the investigation was ongoing and that authorities “have some pretty good ideas” about the cause.

Earlier, President Trump issued a statement thanking first responders for their efforts, saying, “I am monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise.” On Truth Social, he further questioned what led to the crash, writing, “This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!”

Newly confirmed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared on social media that the Pentagon was actively monitoring the situation and “poised to assist if needed.”

Kansas Senator Roger Marshall expressed his sorrow in a statement: “Tonight, we received devastating news of what can only be described as nothing short of a nightmare… My prayer is that God wraps his arms around each and every victim, and that he continues to be with their families.”

Alexandria, Virginia, Mayor Alyia Gaskins posted on social media, “Earlier this evening, we were devastated to learn of a tragic aviation incident near DCA. Our prayers are with everyone affected. Our fire, police, and emergency personnel are assisting in the regional response.” Alexandria is located just south of Reagan Washington National Airport.

Virginia Senator Tim Kaine acknowledged the many questions surrounding the deadly collision, noting that video footage taken at night made it difficult to draw conclusions. “The footage raises a lot of questions about how this happened,” Kaine said during an appearance on CBS Mornings Thursday.

The first major U.S. commercial aviation crash in nearly 16 years.

The most recent major U.S. commercial air crash took place in February 2009 when a Continental Airlines flight, operated by Colgan Air, crashed into a house while approaching Buffalo, New York. The Bombardier Q400 plane had departed from Newark, New Jersey, and 49 people lost their lives in the incident. In 2010, Continental merged with United Airlines.

The last major crash involving American Airlines occurred in November 2001, near John F. Kennedy International Airport. American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300, crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 265 people. The flight was in route to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and crashed in the Belle Harbor area of the Rockaways in Queens, New York City.

according to CBS News