Everyone aboard American Airlines jet that collided with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington is feared dead, a fire chief said Thursday.

The Wednesday crash prompted a large search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River. The jet was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members.

Washington Fire Chief John Donnelly told a press briefing that emergency crews, totaling about 300 people, were working in “extremely rough” conditions and gave little indication they expected to find anyone alive.

“We’re going to be out there as long as it takes,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters.

At least 28 bodies have so far been recovered from the water, officials said.

Emergency services operate at Gravelly Point, after American Eagle flight 5342 collided with a helicopter while approaching Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29, 2025.

Emergency services operate at Gravelly Point, after American Eagle flight 5342 collided with a helicopter while approaching Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29, 2025. © Elizabeth Frantz, Reuters

US Figure Skating said several athletes, coaches and officials were aboard the flight, while officials in Moscow confirmed married Russian couple Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov – who won the 1994 world pairs title – were on the jet.

“We, unfortunately, see that these sad reports are being confirmed. Our other fellow citizens were there,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The Bombadier plane operated by an American Airlines subsidiary was approaching Reagan National Airport at around 9pm (02:00 GMT) after flying from Wichita, Kansas, when the collision happened.

US Army officials said the helicopter involved was a Black Hawk carrying three soldiers on a “training flight”.

Witness Ari Schulman was driving home when he saw what he described as “a stream of sparks” overhead.

“Initially I saw the plane and it looked fine, normal. It was right about to head over land,” he told CNN.

“Three seconds later, and at that point it was banked all the way to the right … I could see the underside of it, it was lit up a very bright yellow, and there was a stream of sparks underneath it,” Schulman added.

“It looked like a Roman candle.”

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered the grounding of all planes at Reagan National until 11am local time.

Source: France 24