Midwest
DC plane crash timeline: Midair collision involves 67 passengers, crew members, soldiers
An estimated 67 people are presumed dead after a Black Hawk helicopter collided with a commercial American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday evening.
A total of 64 people, including four crew members, were aboard passenger American Airlines Flight 5342, and three soldiers were on the Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk that came from Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
AMERICAN AIRLINES PLANE, ARMY HELICOPTER COLLIDE OUTSIDE REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT NEAR WASHINGTON DC
Here is a timeline of events leading up to and immediately after the Wednesday night crash.
Jan. 29
5:18 p.m. CST
AA Flight 5342 departs Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (ITC) for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) at 5:18 p.m. CST, or 6:18 p.m. EST, according to air traffic control records from FlightRadar24.
Jan. 29 D.C. plane-helicopter collision map.
8:39 p.m. EST
An Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter departs Fort Belvoir as part of a training exercise. A senior Army official told Fox News the soldiers were part of a “fairly experienced” Black Hawk crew, and they had night vision goggles aboard the helicopter.
8:40 p.m. EST
Flight 5342 began to descend into DCA from the south.
DC PLANE CRASH AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL AUDIO REVEALS MOMENT CONTROLLERS SAW DISASTER: ‘TOWER DID YOU SEE THAT?’
8:46 p.m.
Air traffic controllers ask Flight 5342 to land on Runway 33, and pilots acknowledge the order.
ATC AUDIO:
8:48 p.m. EST
An air traffic control official asks the Black Hawk (PAT-25) pilot whether he can see the commercial aircraft.
“Do you have the CRJ in sight?” the controller asks, and the helicopter pilot confirms he sees the passenger plane and requests “visual separation,” meaning he is trying to get out of the flight’s path, according to FlightRadar24 audio.
VICTIMS IDENTIFIED IN DC PLANE CRASH INVOLVING AMERICAN AIRLINES JET AND MILITARY HELICOPTER
“PAT-25, do you have the CRJ in sight?” the controller can be heard saying to the helicopter pilot 30 seconds before the crash.
The controller makes another radio call to PAT-25 moments later: “PAT-25, pass behind the CRJ.”
ATC AUDIO REVEALS MOMENT CONTROLLERS SAW DISASTER:
8:48 p.m. EST
Army UH-60 and Flight 5342 then collide over the Potomac River, causing an explosion midair at an altitude of about 300 feet that was caught on camera.
Air traffic controllers can be heard reacting, and asking, “Did you see that?”
8:53 p.m. EST
The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) receives phone calls reporting a plane crash over the Potomac.
REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT CRASH: MILITARY BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER COLLIDES MIDAIR WITH AMERICAN AIRLINES JET
MPD, D.C. Fire and EMS, and “multiple partner agencies” begin coordinating a search and rescue operation.
Emergency vehicles stage at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night on Jan. 29, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (Kevin Wolf/AP)
9:00 p.m. EST
DCA closes due to an “aircraft emergency.”
9:09 p.m. EST
The DC Fire and EMS Department posts an update on X stating, “Confirmed small aircraft down in Potomac River vicinity Reagan National Airport. Fireboats on scene.”
Rescue workers respond to the scene on the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
10:51 p.m. EST
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posts a statement from President Donald Trump to X.
“I have been fully briefed on the terrible accident which just took place at Reagan National Airport. May God Bless their souls. Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders. I am monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise,” the statement reads.
Emergency response teams, including Washington, D.C., Fire and EMS, Washington, D.C., Police and others, assess airplane wreckage in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington Airport on Jan. 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (Andrew Harnik/Getty)
12:30 a.m. EST
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser holds a press conference with other law enforcement personnel and announces that a passenger aircraft collided with a military aircraft.
DC Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly announces that officials “have recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter.”
Law enforcement continue their investigation into the American Airlines plane that crashed into the Potomac River as it was attempting to land at the Reagan National Airport on Jan. 30, 2025 in Washington, D.C. The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, collided in midair with a military helicopter while approaching the airport. According to reports, there were no survivors among the 67 people on board both aircraft. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
“Despite all these efforts, we are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” Donnelly says.
Jan. 30
8:30 a.m. EST
Officials hold a press conference in Washington, D.C., saying all 67 passengers, crew members and soldiers on board both aircraft are presumed dead.
“We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” Donnelly says during the briefing. “We don’t believe there are any survivors.”
11:00 a.m. EST
Flights resume landing at DCA; the first aircraft lands at the airport at 11:02 a.m.
A Department of Homeland Security source tells Fox News Digital that there are “no terror concerns” after the collision, and officials suspect the crash was “just a tragedy.”
An internal preliminary Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report reviewed by The New York Times says staffing at the air control tower at DCA was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic.”
Onlookers watch as emergency crews respond to the crash site near the Potomac River after a passenger jet collided with a helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Alex Wroblewski/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The controller who was handling helicopters Wednesday night was also instructing planes that were landing and departing from the airport runways, the Times reported. Those assignments are typically assigned to two controllers.
Jan. 31
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told “Fox & Friends” on Friday that officials “will get to the bottom of what happened here.”
“It’s completely unacceptable in our nation’s capital or anywhere. The military trains, and it trains robustly. And we’re not going to stop training, even though there’s a pause on this unit, on this exercise, which is an important one. And we should have that pause until we get to the bottom of this,” Hegseth said. “…We have to train safely. Something like this can never happen. And it’s completely unacceptable.”
Hegseth adds that he does not “know exactly how the staffing occurred in that particular air traffic control tower.”
WATCH:
“It sounds like there was a shortage [of controllers], and the investigation will tell us more about that,” he said. “But the environment around which we choose pilots or air traffic controllers, as the president pointed out correctly yesterday, better be the highest possible standard — the best of the best who are managing … a flight a minute and managing radio traffic.”
The Federal Aviation Administration reportedly restricts helicopter flights near DCA, telling Reuters the agency is prohibiting most helicopters from areas of two routes near the airport, only allowing first responders into the area.
The routes are believed to be the same ones the Army Black Hawk helicopter was traveling along Wednesday night when it collided with the American Airlines passenger jet.
Law enforcement continue their investigation into the American Airlines plane that crashed into the Potomac River as it was attempting to land at the Reagan National Airport on January 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
The FAA also said to lawmakers that the restrictions will remain in place indefinitely as it conducts an investigation, according to Reuters.
“Our union fully supports this action by the FAA,” the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA said. “Operations should change, at the very least until we learn more about what led to the deadliest U.S. aviation accident in 24 years. 67 souls were lost not even 48 hours ago — we should not operate as if nothing happened.”
Prior to the deadly collision, there had been a military aircraft-involved crash in Alaska on Tuesday. Officials said a U.S. Air Force F-35 fighter jet crashed in Alaska after the pilot managed to safely eject from the aircraft.
There have been at least 238 deaths and 227 injuries stemming from non-combat U.S. military aircraft crashes since 2012, according to the FAA.
There have also been multiple “close call” incidents at DCA since 2023.
Fox News’ Greg Norman, The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Wisconsin Badgers 2025 Spring Position Preview: Offensive Line
As Luke Fickell‘s third act in Madison draws closer, BadgerBlitz.com will break down Wisconsin’s roster position-by-position ahead of spring camp, which is slated to take place from March 13 to April 24.
BadgerBlitz.com is once again expected to watch any open practices available for reporters to attend. Thus, our position previews continue Wednesday with the offensive line, a unit entering year two under position coach AJ Blazek.
SPRING POSITION PREVIEWS: QBs | RBs | TEs | WRs
ROSTER OVERVIEW
Wisconsin loses two starters from its offensive line but returns its starting center (Jake Renfro), right tackle (Riley Mahlman) and left guard (Joe Brunner). All told, the Badgers return 2,542 snaps from last fall.
Of the returnees, Mahlman is likely the best of the bunch. In 2024, he allowed a career-high 19 pressures, per Pro Football Focus, but that only translated into two sacks and across 405 pass-blocking snaps, that’s a pressure rate of less than 5 percent. That’ll play. Getting Malhman to return for his fifth-year senior season was enormous for this offensive front.
Renfro returned to action after missing the entire 2023 regular season and did a solid job at center. Like Mahlman, he was a good pass-blocker but struggled to consistently move bodies in the running game. Regardless, his return for a sixth-year senior season is massive as well, as a veteran presence and communicator at center is so critical for the collective performance of an offensive line.
Brunner became a full-time starter last fall, and performed very similarly to the rest of the offensive line: he was lights out in pass protection, not allowing a single sack across 411 pass-blocking snaps, but he didn’t move many bodies as a run-blocker. The Badgers would pull Brunner from time to time to spark their running game, and it’ll be interesting to see if that’s a tactic new offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes — who played offensive line himself — subscribes to.
That leaves left tackle and right guard as the two starting spots up for grabs, and the primary candidates before spring practice kicks off are Kevin Heywood and JP Benzschawel, respectively.
Heywood played 57 snaps at left tackle last fall, the second-most on the team at the blindside tackle spot behind starter Jack Nelson. That included an extended 35 snaps against Purdue, where he didn’t allow a pressure across 14 pass-blocking snaps. In fact, Heywood allowed just one pressure across 50 pass-blocking snaps across the entire season. The highest-rated recruit in Wisconsin’s 2024 recruiting class has a bright future, and looks slated to slide into the starting role this spring.
Benzschwel, meanwhile, will be a redshirt senior this fall. He played a career-high 58 snaps last season, the majority of which came at right guard. He has the seniority and the experience to where he’s clearly the top choice at right guard.
The Badgers have depth on the offensive line past the starters, but most of it is on the younger side. After the aforementioned five projected starters, Wisconsin has super senior Kerry Kodanko (21 career snaps), redshirt junior Barrett Nelson (19 career snaps), senior Leyton Nelson (27 career snaps), four walk-ons and a whopping nine freshman (four of whom redshirted last season). Of those five true freshmen, only three will enroll early, however: Hardy Watts, Nolan Davenport and Michael Roeske.
Wisconsin’s Projected Offensive Linemen on 2025 Spring Roster
Departing Players at Position Group
One question heading into spring practices: How much competition is there at the open spots?
Of the two spots along the offensive line that don’t return a starter, both appear to have a clear candidate to fill them. As mentioned, Heywood (left tackle) and Benzschawel (right guard) should be the runaway favorites at their respective positions.
Still, who could challenge each player? Let’s offer some names for each position. Starting at left tackle, players other than Heywood that figure to have a shot include: 1) Barrett Nelson, 2) Leyton Nelson and 3) Emerson Mandell.
Barrett has exclusively played tackle during his career in Madison, and has the seniority as a redshirt junior to feasibly be one of the first reserve tackles off the bench. Leyton figures to be a candidate as well for the same reasons.
Mandell, meanwhile — a fellow Rivals250 recruit in the 2024 class — has the size to play tackle, but he appears more likely to crack the two-deep at guard.
At right guard, the candidates include 1) Mandell, 2) Colin Cubberly, 3) Kodanko and 4) Ryan Cory.
Cubbery and Cory are redshirt freshmen who played a handful of snaps each at guard last season. The senior Kodanko, meanwhile, has just 21 career snaps but could also be Renfro’s backup at center.
Player to watch this spring: Kevin Heywood
It’s often hard to evaluate the play in the trenches during spring ball without full pads, but it’ll be hard to take ones eyes off Heywood this spring.
For one, you can’t miss him. He’s an absolute unit at a listed 6-foot-8, 325 pounds, and that was last season — how does he look after a full year with strength coach Brady Collins?
It also goes without saying that left tackle is one of the most critical positions on the entire team. Jack Nelson gave the Badgers rock solid if not dominant play at that spot for three years. There’s certainly room for improvement, but the floor is also pretty high. Can Heywood raise the bar at the position?
Potential Depth Chart at Offensive Line
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Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ proposal to apparently remove gendered language from state law is sparking debate about the impact it could have on the family and society at large.
Evers has come under fire after introducing a budget recommendation that would change the word “mother” to “inseminated person” in the context of IVF and “paternity” to “parentage” in some parts of state law.
The Evers administration’s budget recommendation for the 2025-2027 fiscal period also advises several other gendered terms be changed. References to “wife” or “husband” are changed to “spouse” in the proposal. In other places, the word “father” is changed to “parent,” and “mother” is swapped out for the phrase “parent who gave birth to the child.”
Now, critics are analyzing the impact these changes could have on culture as a whole.
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Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers speaks to supporters during an election night event at The Orpheum Theater on November 8, 2022 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
Jay Richards, the director of the DeVos Center for Life, Religion and Family, argued that the proposal is an “ideological campaign” and explained that understanding reality is partly shaped by the language the culture uses. If people cannot distinguish between the sexes in language, it will be more difficult for young people to understand the reality of sex and marriage, he argued.
“If somebody says these kind of word changes are not a big deal, I always say, ‘OK, then why are you trying to do it?’ ….Clearly, somebody thinks it’s a big deal, or they would not have bothered to actually do it,” he told Fox News Digital.
Richards said that gender ideologues are trying to “erase language that would refer to the reality of sex” and proposals like Evers’ could cause confusion among young people about marriage. The most “perverse” consequence of gender ideology, he argued, is that many children growing up in 2025 entertain the “thought that they might be born in the wrong body.”
“In other words, that their self and their body are these two fundamentally different things, and so if they feel discomfort with their body, rather than learning to become satisfied and content with their body, they imagine that through drugs and surgery, they can transform their body to conform to some kind of internal idea,” he said. “That, to me, is the most toxic aspect of gender ideology because it essentially alienates children from the bodies that God has given them.”
Laura Dunn, a civil and victims’ rights attorney and Bailey Duquette partner, had a different perspective, explaining she is “happy” and “hopeful” to see Evers’ proposed changes because they take into consideration “generations that are feeling more free to express gender identity” while under “heavy attack.”
Dunn argued that those hoping to stick to the “gender binary” don’t often consider the “real-life consequences from individuals who are being discriminated, targeted, harassed and even abused as a result of breaking those forced norms and deciding to identify how they want.”
“Our Constitution doesn’t just guarantee liberty, it actually guarantees the pursuit of happiness, which is self-expression, which is allowing people to identify how they feel,” she said. “It is inherently part of the freedom of our country to have more openness and inclusiveness, and it’s very alarming in this political era, to see a backlash against that.”
Evers defended the changes by arguing they’re designed to provide legal clarity in state law for families and those who use IVF.
“What we want is legal certainty that moms are able to get the care they need,” Evers told reporters in Wausau on Monday. “That’s it. End of story.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Gov. Evers, and his office did not respond to requests for comment. However, he has argued the proposals are designed to provide legal clarity in state law for families and those who use IVF.
“What we want is legal certainty that moms are able to get the care they need,” Evers told reporters last month. “That’s it. End of story.”
Read the full article from Here
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