Watch FOX live coverage of DC midair jet crash
The Federal Aviation Administration released a statement that read, “A PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet collided in midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on approach to Runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 p.m. local time. PSA was operating as Flight 5342 for American Airlines. It departed from Wichita, Kansas. The FAA and NTSB will investigate. The NTSB will lead the investigation.”
WASHINGTON – One of the largest search and rescue operations involving a downed aircraft around the nation’s capital since Sept. 11, 2001, unfolded on Wednesday evening, as hundreds of first responders descended on the Potomac River.
The Federal Aviation Administration reported that American Airlines Flight 5342, operated by PSA Airlines, from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on approach to Reagan Washington National Airport.
The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and other partner agencies conducted search and rescue efforts well into the evening for the dozens of souls on board in the chilly waters of the Potomac River.
All aviation traffic into and out of Washington’s Reagan National Airport was halted as authorities swarmed the airport and nearby waterways after the collision.
Watch live FOX coverage here or in the video player above.
A PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet collided in midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on approach to Runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 p.m. local time. PSA was operating as Flight 5342 for American Airlines. It departed from Wichita, Kansas. (FOX Weather)