Plane crash of the first day of the year of the snake Jan 29th 2025 Runway 33

"American Eagle Flight 5342" = 170 (Ordinal)

"intelligence agency" = 170 (Ordinal)

"the institute" = 170 (Ordinal)

On January 29, 2025, American Eagle Flight 5342, a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by a Bombardier CRJ700 series airliner, collided mid-air with a United States Army Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter while on final approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport near Washington, D.C. Both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River, killing all 67 people on board the two aircraft.

Flight 5342 was operated by PSA Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Airlines Group,[a] and was en route from Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport in Wichita, Kansas.[3][4] The helicopter was on a training flight out of Davison Army Airfield in Fairfax County, Virginia.

American Eagle Flight 5342[5] was operated by a 20-year-old Bombardier CRJ-700 series, a regional jet commonly used for short- to medium-haul flights. It was configured as a CRJ-701ER, designating a slightly higher seating capacity and extended range. Manufactured in September 2004, it bore the registration number N709PS, and had been transferred to PSA Airlines for operations under the American Eagle brand[a] in December 2013 after the merger of US Airways and American Airlines.[6][7][8] The flight originated from Wichita, Kansas, and was en route to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after taking off from Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport.[9] No abnormalities were reported when the plane took off from Wichita.[10]

The helicopter involved was a United States Army Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk registered as 00-26860.[11] The helicopter was configured as a "Gold Top", which is used for executive transportation for senior U.S. officials and soldiers, and was flying under the callsign PAT25, indicating a "Priority Air Transport" flight.[12][13] No senior officials were on board the helicopter.[12][14] The helicopter, of B Company of the 12th Aviation Battalion at Fort Belvoir, was on a training flight out of Davison Army Airfield when the collision occurred.[15][2]

Around 8:47 p.m. EST, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter crew if they had Flight 5342 in sight, less than 30 seconds before the collision. The crew confirmed visual contact and requested "visual separation" from the airliner—meaning they would visually acquire and maintain separation from the aircraft on their own—which was approved by the controller.[24][25] Moments later, the controller instructed the helicopter to pass behind Flight 5342.[1][26] The two aircraft collided at less than 300 feet (91 m) altitude,[27] with the airplane flying at 128 miles per hour (206 km/h; 111 kn) upon impact, causing the helicopter to explode and crash into the Potomac River.[28] The CRJ-700's radio transponder ceased transmitting about 2,400 feet (730 m) short of Runway 33, where it intended to land.[1][26]

Duration: 1 minute and 2 seconds.1:02

Partial air traffic control audio between the helicopter, regional jet, and ground control

The collision was captured by a webcam at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,[29][30] and another video showed a brief trail of fire.[31] Witnesses reported that the airliner "split in half" upon impact, while the helicopter crashed upside down near the airliner.[32] A pilot in an uninvolved aircraft confirmed seeing the crash to an air traffic controller, and reported seeing flares from the side of the Potomac opposite to them as they were on short final.[12]

The jet's traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS), which might have helped prevent the collision at higher altitudes, does not send advisories to aircraft on approach when they are less than 1,000 feet (300 m) above the ground; this is to avoid directing an aircraft into a collision with terrain or another aircraft.[33]

Context

This accident was the first fatal incident for American Airlines since the crash of Flight 587 on November 12, 2001,[34] the first fatal accident involving the CRJ-700 series since its introduction in 2001,[35] and the first major commercial plane crash involving multiple fatalities in the United States since Colgan Air Flight 3407, which was operating a Continental Connection flight on February 12, 2009, caused by pilot error.[36][37][38] It was also the first crash in the Potomac River since Air Florida Flight 90 collided with a bridge before crashing into the river on January 13, 1982.[39][40][41]