2 Weeks Since the Washington Air Crash—What to Know

A Coast Guard crane arrives to remove the wreckage of a military Black Hawk helicopter after the crash of an American Airlines plane on the Potomac River as it approached the airport in Arlington, Va., on Jan. 31, 2025. Al Drago/Getty Images

The cause of the Jan. 29 midair collision of two aircraft near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is still under investigation. However, the remains of the passengers who died in the crash have been recovered, along with recording devices from both aircraft.

The crash between American Airlines flight 5342 and an Army Black Hawk helicopter took place about three miles south of the White House, killing all 64 passengers and crew on the airplane and the three military members in the helicopter.

According to a Feb. 10 update from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), personnel from that agency, along with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the U.S. Army, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, and several other groups, were still working through the wreckage to understand what happened in the moments surrounding the crash.

The Crash

Flight 5342, which originated in Wichita, Kansas, was preparing to land when it collided with a UH-60 Black Hawk flying out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

The American Airlines regional jet was flying a daily route from Kansas to the nation’s capital at the time of the crash. The Black Hawk was on a training exercise, according to the FAA, and the skies were clear at the time of the crash.

Moments before the twin-engine jet was set to land, the pilots of the aircraft were asked by air traffic controllers if they could use a shorter runway, and they agreed. Air traffic control then cleared the jet to land.

A controller asked the military pilot less than 30 seconds before the collision if he had the plane in sight, and the pilot confirmed. This was just before the controller also told the helicopter to wait for the jet to pass. There was no reply to that order, and the aircraft collided.

The Investigation

NTSB member Todd Inman previously told reporters that the flight data recorder was in good condition and was being assessed by the agency. Water made its way into the cockpit voice recorder, and while it’s still recoverable, it will increase the time needed to access the information.

The agency confirmed that the helicopter data was stored on a single black box that appeared, at the time of recovery, to be undamaged, according to Inman.

A preliminary report by the FAA showed that the staffing of the air traffic control tower was in some way “not normal” and that at least one employee might have had double the appropriate workload.

Inman also said there was no evidence that the emergency safety equipment was deployed on the plane before it crashed into the river below, likely owing to the speed at which the crash took place. The NTSB’s full preliminary findings are expected within 30 days of the crash date.

NTSB is investigating data that could indicate that the helicopter was above its flight ceiling of 200 feet at the time of the crash. Information from the jet’s recorded flight showed it was at an altitude of 325 feet, with a margin of error of about 25 feet.

According to Jonathan Koziol, chief of staff for Army aviation, the helicopter crew was “very experienced.” He also said they were familiar with the congestion in air traffic patterns around Washington.

Who Was on Board

The remains of all 67 crash victims have been recovered. A joint statement announcing the end of that portion of the emergency effort came from the city and federal agencies involved, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Navy dive teams, and Washington police and fire crews.

“Our hearts are with the victims’ families as they navigate this tragic loss,” they said in the statement.

Among those confirmed to have been on the jet at the time of the crash were 14 members of the figure skating community. They had been in Wichita, Kansas, for the U.S. national championships.

Two teenage figure skaters, as well as their mothers, were among the passengers. Skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane have been confirmed dead, according to Skating Club of Boston CEO Doug Zeghibe.

Additionally, pairs world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov of Russia were killed in the crash. Shishkova and Naumov, a married couple, won a world championship title together in 1994 and came close to medaling at the Olympics the same year.

Four members of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada union were also on board.

“We are heartbroken to confirm that four members of UA Steamfitters Local 602 were among the victims of the American Airlines Flight 5342 crash yesterday,” the union said in a Jan. 30 statement on social media platform X.

The Chinese Embassy announced the day after the crash that two Chinese nationals were also among those killed in the collision, and in Virginia, the Loudoun County Public Schools said in a Jan. 30 statement that some of the victims were former students of its district.

DEI in Question

President Donald Trump spoke out against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives employed by the Transportation Security Administration, while speaking to reporters on the day after the crash.

The president said that the program’s implementation prioritized goals other than job proficiency and that it could have been to blame for the crash.

The same day, Trump signed a safety memorandum for the aviation community to reverse the DEI hiring practices for air traffic controllers and other transportation officials.

“We are going to have the most competent people in the country in our control towers,” Trump said. “For an air traffic controller, we want the brightest, the smartest, the sharpest.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.