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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Democratic FTC commissioner Bedoya says he will step down
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -One of the two Democratic commissioners at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission who has challenged his firing by President Donald Trump said on Monday he was stepping down. Alvaro Bedoya said he would step down to comply with ethics rules but will remain a plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging his dismissal. "I love this work. But I'm not getting paid for it," Bedoya said. "But my number one job is to take care of my family." The FTC is currently led by three Republicans.
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dozens of anti-ICE rioters arrested in LA as Trump sends in National Guard to quell violence
Dozens of protesters have been arrested following a weekend of violence across Los Angeles as tensions hit a boiling point over immigration raids throughout the city. On Sunday, law enforcement officials from multiple agencies arrested 41 protesters as anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) demonstrations spiraled out of control. Of the nearly four-dozen arrests, 21 were made by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), 19 by California Highway Patrol and one by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. Rioters Smash Windows At Lapd Headquarters As Anti-ice Agitators Clash With Authorities The charges include failure to disperse, assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, looting and arson, an LAPD spokesperson told Fox News Digital. Of the most violent alleged offenses, one individual was arrested for attempted murder with a Molotov cocktail, Fox News Digital has learned. Read On The Fox News App On Saturday, the LAPD arrested 10 individuals for failing to disperse. The agency did not make any arrests Friday, according to officials. California Lt. Governor Says Los Angeles Riots Are 'Generated By Donald Trump' The LAPD declined Fox News Digital's request to identify the arrestees. The arrests come as the sanctuary city is bracing for the possibility of more violence as anti-ICE protesters clash with local, state and federal law enforcement. The protests kicked off on Friday after federal agents swept through the city's garment district in search of undocumented immigrants, sparking outrage throughout the community. California Republicans Slam Newsom, Bass For Letting La Burn With Riots Amid Trump Immigration Blitz In response to the unrest, President Donald Trump deployed 2,000 California National Guard troops to the area, with 300 troops arriving over the weekend. "We made a great decision in sending the National Guard to deal with the violent, instigated riots in California," Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday morning. "If we had not done so, Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated." Tensions escalated on the third day of protests as agitators moved throughout the city, setting self-driving cars on fire and blocking off major highways. Federal Officials Slam Democrats For 'Dangerous' Rhetoric As Ice Agents Face Violent Mobs In La, Nyc National Guard troops took to the streets Sunday morning to guard the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles. As the protesters approached the guard members, additional uniformed officers began shooting smoke-filled canisters into the street. The LAPD began firing off rounds of crowd-control munitions in an effort to disperse the protesters, who then advanced onto the 101 Freeway and proceeded to block traffic until state police cleared the roadway by late afternoon. Additionally, demonstrators set at least four self-driving electric vehicles on fire, resulting in large explosions being heard throughout the chaos along with intermittent flash bangs going off periodically. By Sunday night, local police had issued an unlawful assembly order, effectively shutting down the area throughout downtown Los Angeles. Ice Sweeps Through La Businesses As Local Democrats Cry Foul Over Trump Administration's Enforcement Actions "Demonstrators have marched to the LA Live area and are blocking all lanes of traffic on Figueroa and 11th St," the LAPD posted to X. "An UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY has been declared for the Downtown Los Angeles area. You are to leave the area immediately." Trump's move to send in the U.S. military has drawn criticism from local and national politicians, with Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom renouncing the move while vowing to sue the administration. "This is about authoritarian tendencies," Newsom said in a statement. "This is about command and control. This is about power. This is about ego. This is a consistent pattern. This guy has abandoned the core principles of this great democracy. He's threatening to go after judges he disagrees with, cut off funding to institutions of higher learning, he's rewriting history and censoring historical facts." Patel Promises Fbi Coming For Anyone Assaulting Cops As Los Angeles Erupts Over Ice Raids Newsom arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday evening to meet with state officials and oversee the response to the anti-ICE demonstrations. ICE said in a Saturday post on X that the agency had arrested 118 illegal immigrants throughout Los Angeles, including five alleged gang members. "Why do Governor Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass care more about violent murderers and sex offenders than they do about protecting their own citizens?" Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for Homeland Security's public affairs, said in a statement. "These rioters in Los Angeles are fighting to keep rapists, murderers, and other violent criminals loose on Los Angeles streets. Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE officers every single day who wake up and make our communities safer." Representatives for Bass' administration did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Fox News Digital's Audrey Conklin contributed to this article source: Dozens of anti-ICE rioters arrested in LA as Trump sends in National Guard to quell violence
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump says LA officials were ‘afraid' to act amid protests
President Trump on Monday said that local officials were scared to act amid protests in Los Angeles that center on immigration, defending his decision to send in the National Guard without local approval. 'Some of the things you're reading out in Los Angeles, thank goodness we sent out some wonderful National Guard, they've really helped. And, a lot of problems that we're having out there. They were afraid to do anything and we sent out the troops and they've done a fantastic job. So I want to thank them very much,' Trump said at the top of his remarks at an 'Invest In America' roundtable. The president was asked why he decided he didn't need Newsom's request to send in the National Guard, which he said he would need during protests in 2020, and he insisted that the governor is 'incompetent.' 'The biggest change from that statement is we have an incompetent governor,' he said. 'If I didn't get involved, if we didn't bring the guard in and we would bring more in if we needed it. Because we have to make sure there's going to be law and order.' Trump and his team have accused California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and other local officials of being too soft on protests surrounding raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Meanwhile, Newsom has said California will sue the Trump administration over its deployment of the National Guard. The president earlier on Monday suggested he would support arresting Newsom after the governor dared the Tom Homan, White House's border czar, to do so. When asked what crime Newsom committed that would lead to his arrest, the president responded, 'I think his primary crime is running for governor.' Trump also doubled down on his comments declaring that federal forces have a forceful response to demonstrators who spit on them in Los Angeles. ''If they spit, we will hit.' This is a statement from the President of the United States concerning the catastrophic Gavin Newscum inspired Riots going on in Los Angeles. The Insurrectionists have a tendency to spit in the face of the National Guardsmen/women, and others,' Trump said on Truth Social. 'These Patriots are told to accept this, it's just the way life runs. But not in the Trump Administration. IF THEY SPIT, WE WILL HIT, and I promise you they will be hit harder than they have ever been hit before. Such disrespect will not be tolerated!' On Sunday, Trump told reporters, 'they spit, we hit. And I told them, nobody's going to spit on our police officers. No body's going to spit on our military.' White House officials have highlighted images of burning vehicles and clashes with law enforcement to make the case that the situation in Los Angeles had gotten out of control. Officials also maintain that Trump intervened at the right time to restore law and order and that the violent attacks had already escalated before he stepped in. But, California Democrats are responding to Trump by calling on residents to not turn to violence while protesting, arguing that the president's move to bring in the National Guard was meant to provoke the chaos. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
