WASHINGTON (7News)) — Nearly one year after a midair collision over the Potomac River killed 67 people aboard two aircraft, the Washington, D.C. region is reflecting on a night that reshaped aviation safety and left dozens of families grieving.
The crash happened just before 9 p.m. Jan. 29, 2025, as an American Airlines regional jet approached Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after a flight from Wichita, Kansas.
A U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter crossed into the plane’s flight path, and the two aircraft collided near the airport, erupting into a fireball before plunging into the river.
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Map shows the path of the aircrafts involved in the midair collision over the Potomac River near DCA on January 29, 2025. (7News)
All 67 people aboard were killed, 64 passengers and crew members on the plane, and three soldiers on the helicopter, making it one of the deadliest aviation disasters in the Washington area in decades.
Emergency calls flooded dispatch centers within moments of the impact. First responders from the District of Columbia, Virginia and Maryland rushed to the scene as boats and divers searched the dark, icy waters.
The response stretched on for days in freezing temperatures. Divers worked in murky, eight-foot-deep water, maneuvering around ice and debris from the shattered jet. Recovery efforts were temporarily halted at times so that large pieces of wreckage interfering with the search could be removed.
Reagan National Airport shut down immediately after the crash, and the Federal Aviation Administration issued an extended ground stop. Hundreds of flights were disrupted, with incoming aircraft diverted to Washington Dulles International Airport. Metro services were expanded to help stranded travelers return to vehicles parked at Reagan National, and warming buses were sent to assist the recovery crews.
Officials later recovered both flight data and cockpit voice recorders from the plane, along with the helicopter’s voice and data recorder. Investigators have spent months reviewing that information as part of a comprehensive federal probe.
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The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to share its final report on Tuesday in a board meeting, including the probable cause of the collision. That report is expected to be released on Feb.10, 2026 — one year after the investigation began.
For families, the anniversary has reopened deep wounds. Relatives of victims have spoken about the suddenness of the loss and the lasting impact on tight-knit communities across the country.
As Washington pauses to remember the victims, officials say the findings of the investigation will be critical in preventing a similar tragedy from happening again.
