Rain, blustery winds in DC to challenge recovery efforts after deadly mid-air collision
The FOX Forecast Center said light rain or drizzle is expected Friday morning, with steadier rains moving in for the afternoon. Blustery conditions through the evening with gusts to 20-30 mph.
FILE – Search and rescue operation underway after passenger plane, military helicopter collide mid-air
An American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a military Black Hawk helicopter while on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport outside of Washington, DC, on Wednesday night.
WASHINGTON – Rain, fog and gusty winds Friday could hamper recovery efforts as investigators search for answers in the deadly midair plane crash that claimed 67 lives in the Potomac River.
Investigators continue recovery efforts in the waters of the Potomac River after American Airlines flight 5342 collided mid-air late January 29 with a US Army helicopter as the plane approached to land at Reagan National Airport, near Washington, DC, on January 31, 2025.
(ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
An American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a military Black Hawk helicopter while on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport outside of Washington, DC, on Wednesday night.
Divers from the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department returned to the crash site Friday to work with the National Transportation Safety Board, searching for additional aircraft parts and attempting to salvage the remains of the helicopter and regional jet involved. Both the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder from American Flight 534 have been recovered and are now being analyzed in a government lab.
However, a cold front sweeping through the mid-Atlantic as part of a storm system that has swept from coast-to-coast will create challenging weather conditions Friday.
Rain, fog and gusty winds Friday could hamper recovery efforts as investigators search for answers in the deadly midair plane crash that claimed 67 lives in the Potomac River.
(FOX Weather)
The FOX Forecast Center says light rain or drizzle is expected through Friday morning, with steadier rains moving in for the afternoon.
It will be a very wet Friday evening into early Friday night as a cold front moves through, with rainfall totals reaching 1/3-1/2 inch. With the rain comes blustery conditions that will persist through the evening, with gusts to 20-30 mph. High temperatures will reach the low-mid 50s.
![In this U.S. Coast Guard handout, the Coast Guard investigates aircraft wreckage on the Potomac River on January 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. An American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided midair with a military Black Hawk helicopter while on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport outside of Washington, DC. According to reports, there were no survivors among the 67 people onboard both aircraft.]()
Image 1 of 3In this U.S. Coast Guard handout, the Coast Guard investigates aircraft wreckage on the Potomac River on January 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Petty Officer 1st Class Brandon Giles/ U.S. Coast Guard via Getty Images)
![An American Eagle flight takes off from Reagan National Airport near where emergency crews work in the Potomac River on the crash site of an American Airlines plane on January 30, 2025 in Washington, DC.]()
Image 2 of 3An American Eagle flight takes off from Reagan National Airport near where emergency crews work in the Potomac River on the crash site of an American Airlines plane on January 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
![Emergency response units search the crash site of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after the plane crashed last night on approach to Reagan National Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia.]()
Image 3 of 3Emergency response units search the crash site of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after the plane crashed last night on approach to Reagan National Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Behind the front, it will be a drier but colder Saturday with temperatures dropping from the 40s in the morning to the 30s by Saturday evening. Chilly, breezy winds will accompany the temperature drop Saturday with gusts to 35 mph in the morning. Winds will taper off later in the day.
Lows will drop below freezing by Saturday night.
NTSB leaders said a preliminary report about the crash will be released in at least a month, if not longer. They also cautioned that it is far too soon to know if there were issues with control tower staffing or with communications between the aircraft involved.