Air traffic controllers warned a US Army helicopter that it was getting dangerously close to an American Airlines passenger plane that was landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport before the deadly collision on Wednesday night, according to a recording of the air traffic control radio exchange.
Less than 30 seconds before the midair crash, which sent both aircraft into the icy Potomac River in the US capital, an aircraft controller radioed the helicopter, “Have you spotted the CRJ?” — referring to American Airlines Flight 5342, a CRJ 700, according to FlightRadar24.
The plane, which took off from Wichita, Kan., with 64 people on board, was landing at Reagan National, traveling north toward Runway 33.
The helicopter — which took off near Langley, Va., according to reports — appeared to have been flying up the Potomac prior to the crash.
The collision happened at about 8:48:48 Wednesday night.
Here is a partial reconstruction of the events that led to the crash, based on initial flight maps and air traffic control audio:
- 5:18 p.m. — American Airlines Flight 5342, a CRJ 700, takes off from Wichita, Kan., bound for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
- 8:39:40 p.m. — Army UH-60 helicopter out of Fort Belvoir, Va., takes off on a training exercise with three people aboard, flying up the Potomac River from the area of Langley, Va.
- 8:40 p.m. — Flight 5342 begins approaching Reagan National’s Runway 33 from the south of Washington, DC.
- 8:48:38 p.m. — Air traffic control tower radios the US Army UH-60 helicopter (PAT25) and asks, “Do you have the CRJ in sight?” The helicopter pilot confirms he sees the passenger plane and requests “visual separation” — confirming he is going to try to fly out of the plane’s path.
- 8:48:56 p.m. — Flight 5342 and the helicopter collide over the Potomac at an altitude of about 300 feet, as the plane was traveling about 145 mph, per the last recordings from FlightRadar24. Air traffic controllers can be heard reacting, and asking, “Did you see that?”
