DC crash: Timeline of Black Hawk-plane collision
(NewsNation) — A Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines plane collided within minutes of the chopper being instructed by air traffic control to 'pass behind' the aircraft.
Flights are once again taking off and landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport as things get back to normal amid an anything-but-normal situation.
Officials said 27 bodies were recovered from the jet, which was carrying 64 people, and one was pulled from the helicopter, which had three soldiers onboard. Crews fear there are no survivors, which would make it the deadliest U.S. air crash in nearly 24 years.
The regional passenger jet was carrying 64 people en route from Kansas before crashing into a helicopter carrying three soldiers, sending both aircraft into the icy Potomac River near Washington, D.C.
Jan. 29, 6:39 p.m.: American Airlines Flight 5342 departed Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport in Wichita, Kansas.
It is currently unknown when the helicopter took off as part of a training flight. According to the U.S. Army, the chopper was from Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
What we know about the DC plane crash victims
Jan. 29, 8:47 p.m.: Air traffic controllers tell the Army helicopter to 'pass behind' the American Airlines plane.
Jan. 29, 8:48 p.m.: Flight 5342 collides with the helicopter over the Potomac River.
As the crash occurred, there was audio of the emergency recording with air traffic control where the operator reported the collision.
As of Thursday morning, at least 28 bodies had been recovered from the Potomac River. Crews fear there are no survivors, which would make it the deadliest U.S. air crash in nearly 24 years.
Black Hawk knew plane was in area before crash: Transportation chief
Jan. 30, 7 a.m.: D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly said during a news conference Thursday that he's confident all of the bodies from the crash will ultimately be recovered.
Victims included Loudon County students, U.S. and Russian figure skaters and D.C.-area steamfitters, among others.
People who believe they have family members on the flights and are looking for further information are asked to call 800-697-8215.
Jan. 30, 11 a.m.: The midair crash shut down Reagan Airport until Thursday, with the first flight departing at 11:01 a.m. local time en route to Nashville.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
Skydiving Plane Carrying 20 People Crashes in Tennessee
A small plane used for skydiving crashed near Tullahoma Regional Airport in Tennessee on June 8 Twenty people were on the plane, and no casualties have been reported, a spokesperson for the city of Tullahoma told PEOPLE 'There are some minor injuries. The scene is being secured by local authorities while FAA officials are en route to continue the investigation,' the spokesperson addedA small plane used for skydiving has crashed in Tennessee. The plane crashed soon after it left Tullahoma Regional Airport at around 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 8, according to Lyle Russell, a spokesperson for the city of Tullahoma, which is about 75 miles south of Nashville. The spokesperson said in a statement to PEOPLE that 20 people, including crew members and passengers, were aboard the aircraft when it crashed. "There were no casualties," Russell said. "There are some minor injuries. The scene is being secured by local authorities while FAA officials are en route to continue the investigation." The Tennessee Highway Patrol said on social media that several of those people were airlifted to nearby hospitals and that the plane landed near the town's Old Shelbyville Road. 'Three were sent for medical treatment via helicopter and one sent by ground transport for more serious injuries to local hospitals," Russell said. "Other minor injuries were treated by first responders on scene.' 'The plane involved was a skydiving plane, a DeHaviland DH-6 Twin Otter,' Russell added. 'No ground facilities or airport facilities were damaged and there were no injuries were reported from the ground." Social media footage shared by the highway patrol shows the small plane broken down with lots of parts missing as it sits in an open grassy field. Law enforcement vehicles and fire trucks can be seen surrounding the plane, which seemingly had part of its wings snapped off in the crash. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. This crash comes amid of concerns about plane crashes in the U.S., following a number of both private and commercial crashes this year. One of the most significant of these came in January, when American Airlines Flight 5342 and an Army helicopter collided over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., killing 67 people. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
Burial service to be held June 9 for Gravette WWII soldier killed in D-Day invasion
GRAVETTE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — After more than 80 years, a Northwest Arkansan hero is returning home. Private Rodger Dean Andrews, a World War II soldier from Gravette, will be laid to rest with full military honors at 2:00 p.m. Monday, June 9, at Bethel Cemetery in Gravette, according to the Benton County Sheriff's Office (BSCO). His remains, recently identified after decades of uncertainty, will arrive in Northwest Arkansas the evening of Sunday, June 8 and be received by Epting Funeral Home in Bentonville. On Monday, the BCSO Motor Division will escort Private Andrews to his final resting place, joined by Military Honors and the Patriot Guard. The procession will depart Epting Funeral Home (709 N. Walton Blvd, Bentonville) at 1:15 p.m. and follow this route: South on N. Walton Blvd Right on SW 14th Street (Highway 102) Right on Highway 59 through Decatur Right on Bethel Road in Gravette Left into Bethel Cemetery 'Community members are encouraged to line the route and pay their respects to honor the life and service of Private Rodger Dean Andrews, a true American hero,' BSCO said in a Facebook post. HISTORY: Grant Hardin's 12-day escape joins the state's most infamous escapes The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced in a news release on October 2 that U.S. Army Private Rodger D. Andrews, 19, was accounted for on June 5. Andrews was assigned in June 1944 to Company C of the 37th Engineer Combat Battalion in the European Theater. On June 6, 1944, American, Canadian and British forces came ashore on the beaches of Normandy in France during Operation Overlord. The release said that at some point during the battle, Andrews was killed, but due to the chaos, it is not known what happened to him. Private Rodger Dean Andrews' remains were recovered after D-Day but went unidentified for decades. In 2014, his family requested renewed efforts. A belt with his initials helped prompt a review, and in 2019, the remains were exhumed. Scientists confirmed his identity through dental and anthropological analysis. A rosette will now mark his name at the Normandy American Cemetery. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during her remarks at the 2025 Memorial Day Observance at Camp Robinson in North Little Rock that U.S. Army Private Rodger D. Andrews, 18, will be laid to rest at a family plot on June 9, more than 81 years after his death. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Chicago Tribune
a day ago
- Chicago Tribune
Column: A grieving dad opens up about his veteran son's death by suicide
'My son,' he told me, 'should be on that wall also.' At the same time, as I found out later when Waddell and I connected via phone, the longtime North Aurora resident, who retired to Wisconsin in 2006, also understands why former U.S. Army Master Sgt. Michael Waddell's name is not included on the Illinois Fallen Wall among those who gave their lives in service to this country since 9/11. Death by suicide is far more complex. Far too hard to categorize in terms of cause and effect. And there are far too many. Twenty-two a day has been a call-to-action statistic, although the most recent data from the 2024 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report (using 2022 numbers) puts it at 17.6 veterans committing suicide per day, which is significantly higher than among non-veteran adults. 'Can you imagine,' asked Waddell, 'how long a wall it would have to be to contain all of them?' And yes, when the Chris Patterson Memorial Foundation took over the Illinois Fallen Wall display a year ago, founder Bob Patterson – whose son, a West Aurora High School grad, was killed in 2012 in Afghanistan – noted some 'upset' feelings by loved ones grieving a suicide. But like Waddell, he noted, after some discussion they understood the reasoning behind the decision not to include those who took their own lives while in service or later. Still, the pain Waddell feels more than two years after his only child shot himself is palpable. It's a pain that needs acknowledging, as does his son's service to this country. After graduating in 1988 from West Aurora High School, Mike Waddell worked for a year in a warehouse, 'with no direction,' until his dad, a Marmion Academy graduate who worked for UPS, saw the names and addresses of those serving in the military printed in The Beacon-News, and encouraged his son to reach out to some and find out how they liked the experience. Because the feedback was positive, Mike enlisted in November of 1989, and spent the next 22 years in the U.S. Army, including two deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom where, according to his father, he suffered traumatic brain injury when his vehicle hit an IED. The younger Waddell retired as a master sergeant in 2011 and worked for the Army Corps of Engineers until shortly before his death in Jacksonville, North Carolina, according to his father, but struggled with PTSD, which eventually impacted his personality and relationships. Suffering from those invisible wounds, Mike became more verbally abusive, self-medicating on weed and wine, said Ron Waddell, adding that while his son would call the V.A. when 'having a bad day,' he never sought counseling, even with loved ones begging him to get help. With his 30-year marriage crumbling around him, said the elder Waddell, Mike used a gun to take his own life on May 8, 2023. 'As a child, he literally passed out when getting a shot,' recalled the father. 'Imagine the mental anguish he was going through' to end his life in this way. 'Had his mother been alive,' he continued, referring to his wife Andi's death in 2014 after a long battle with cancer, 'it would have killed her.' Waddell described their son as a 'good kid … a funny guy when he was not the way he was in the end.' And he was an excellent soldier, his father noted, referring to the many military commendations he received, as well as a flood of personal accolades from peers following his death. 'Your son was a good man … one of the best non-commissioned officers I have ever worked with,' wrote a fellow soldier who served twice with Mike during his service. While Mike Waddell's career meant most of his adult years were long distance from his dad, he was buried with full military honors at Northwoods National Cemetery in Harshaw, Wisconsin, just 15 minutes from Ron's home. And that gives a still-grieving father tremendous comfort knowing his son is 'finally at peace.' 'I can't emphasize enough how impressed and proud I was of him,' he told me. 'I have so many memories, all good.'
