Families, first responders reflect one year after the DCA plane crash
One year later: Remembering the DCA plane crash
It's been almost one year since the tragic mid-air collision between an American Airlines plane and an Army Black Hawk helicopter claimed the lives of 67 people. Tonight, FOX 5 looks back on the tragic incident and remembers the victims.
WASHINGTON - One year ago, on a clear winter night, an American Eagle Bombardier CRJ-700 and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided midair over the Potomac River, killing everyone on board.
Sixty passengers. Four crew members. Three Army aviators.
All lost in an instant.
Now, one year later, a FOX LOCAL special revisits the tragedy — beginning with the families still searching for answers, the first responders who rushed to the scene within minutes, and the aviation experts working to understand how such a catastrophic collision could happen.
The one-hour special is available on demand on FOX LOCAL. Here's how to download FOX LOCAL on your smart TV and mobile phone.
The backstory:
On Jan. 29, American Airlines Flight 5342 was preparing to touchdown at Ronald Reagan National Airport when air traffic controllers asked pilots if they could land the jet on a shorter runway a few minutes before landing, and they said they were able.
Controllers then cleared the plane to land on Runway 33. Flight-tracking sites showed the plane adjusting its approach to the new runway.
Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked the Black Hawk if it had the arriving plane in sight.
The controller made another radio call to the helicopter moments later, telling them, "PAT 25, pass behind the CRJ." Seconds after that, the two aircraft collided.
The wreckage tumbled into the icy Potomac River, and all 67 people on board — 60 passengers and four crew members on the American Eagle jetliner, and three people on board the military helicopter — were killed in the crash.
It marked the deadliest U.S. air disaster in almost 25 years.
FOX 5 News at 11: October 24, 2026
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