DC plane crash: What we know and don't know
(NewsNation) — Investigators are currently looking into what caused the deadly plane crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C. Wednesday evening.
The midair collision between an American Airlines jet with 64 people on it and a Black Hawk military helicopter carrying three soldiers happened shortly before 9 p.m. Officials have said they don't believe anyone on board the aircraft survived the crash.
This crash is likely the deadliest U.S. air disaster in nearly 24 years. It is reminiscent of another that happened on Jan. 13, 1982, when an Air Florida flight plowed into the Potomac due to bad weather, leaving 78 dead.
Here is what we have learned, and what we still don't know, about the plane crash.
What we know about the DC plane crash victims
D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services confirmed Friday morning that 41 bodies have been recovered from the river, including all three soldiers on the Hawk helicopter.
During a news conference Thursday, D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly said he's confident all of the bodies from the crash will ultimately be recovered.
'It will take us a little bit of time,' he said. 'It may involve some more equipment.'
CBS News analyzed data and found the Black Hawk helicopter was flying above the permitted altitude. This data, from FlightRadar24, showed the helicopter's last estimated altitude was at 375 to about 400 feet at the time of the crash.
President Donald Trump, on Truth Social Friday morning, questioned why the helicopter was 'far above the 200-foot limit.'
'That's not really too complicated to understand, is it???' he wrote.
Experts wondered the same, according to CBS.
'That's the $64 million question that needs to be answered,' Greg Feith, a former senior air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, told the news outlet.
Agencies tasked with investigating the crash will likely direct attention to the Black Hawk's altitude, Steven B. Wallace, a former director of accident investigations for the FAA, said in an interview with CBS.
On Thursday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said there appeared to have been an elevation issue with the Black Hawk, Reuters said. Hegseth and the Army have said the three soldiers on the helicopter were experienced — the instructor pilot had 1,000 flying hours, while the other pilot had 500 hours.
It is currently unclear what the black boxes or the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder recovered from the passenger jet said.
The National Transportation Safety Board is examining the recorders, which pick up conversations between crew members and air traffic control and 25 hours of flight data.
NTSB spokesperson Peter Knudson said no other recorders were on the airplane. Another one from the helicopter is still being searched for.
Black boxes from the jet are on their way to the NTSB labs, USA Today reported. Data from these black boxes, USA Today wrote, let investigators visualize an airplane's attitude, instrument readings, power settings and other characteristics of the flight.
There was 'communication' between the military helicopter and the American Airlines flight before the two collided, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a Thursday news conference.
Asked further, Duffy described the communication as 'standard.'
'I would say the helicopter was aware there was a plane in the area,' he added.
Congress authorized more flights at Reagan National despite warnings
NTSB officials said the investigation 'will take some time' but their goal is to have a preliminary report on the crash within 30 days.
In the meantime, the NTSB is asking the public not to 'speculate' about the cause, NewsNation partner The Hill writes.
The agency said it is still pulling information such as people involved's personnel records, file and where they were, Brice Banning, a senior aviation accident investigator, said at a press briefing.
'All that information will be part of that investigative process,' he said.
'We have substantial amounts of information. We need to verify information. We need to take our time to make sure it is accurate,' he stated earlier in the briefing.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said the flight manifest with a list of those on the American Airlines jet is expected to be released Friday afternoon after families are notified.
NewsNation's Alex Caprariello, Tom Dempsey, Kevin Bohn and Jacqueline Hughes, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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