Washington
Mapped: How American Airlines plane collided with army helicopter near DC airport
The American Airlines regional jet was on the final approach to Ronald Reagan National Airport., when it collided midair with a military Black Hawk helicopter shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday claiming the lives of 67 people.
So far, 40 bodies have been recovered from the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., as the names of the victims are being released by loved ones and officials.
Two “black boxes” have also been recovered from the wreckage, with a cockpit voice recorder and a flight data recorder taken for lab analysis, the National Transportation Safety Board said.
Jennifer Homendy, chair of NTSB, said Thursday: “We’re here to assure the American people that we are going to leave no stone unturned in this investigation.”
Questions have been raised about staffing and safety at the airport’s air traffic control after reports that one controller clocked off early, according to the New York Times.
The newspaper also reported that the helicopter may not have been traveling along its approved flight path.
Airport is closest to the capital
Ronald Reagan National Airport is located less than four miles from the White House. Flying into D.C. over the Potomac River, passengers get a glimpse of the famed Washington monuments from their window.
Flight 5343 was coming in to land on Runway 33 when disaster struck.
Wichita – Washington, D.C., flight only running for a year
The Wichita flight to Reagan National Airport has only been running for a year and politicians fought hard to get it going.
U.S. Senator Jerry Moran announced the American Airlines direct flight from Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport to Washington Reagan National Airport would make travel “faster and more affordable” for Kansas residents in July 2023.
According to provisional data from FlightAware, American Eagle Flight 5342 took off from Wichita, Kansas, around 5:22 p.m. CST and was in the air for 2 hours and 35 minutes, with an estimated arrival time in Washington at 8:57 p.m. EST.
But the flight tracking data showed the flight’s status result as “unknown” and according to the visuals, the plane stopped on the east side of the Potomac River, roughly adjacent to the Blue Plains neighborhood in D.C.
Helicopter ‘may not have been on approved flight path’
The Black Hawk helicopter carrying the three soldiers may not have been traveling along its approved flight path, according to the New York Times.
According to sources who spoke to the newspaper, the helicopter was supposed to be flying in a different location and lower to the ground when it crossed Reagan National airspace.
The helicopter was flying too high and outside its approved path, several people with knowledge of the investigation told the Times.
Staffing and safety issues at air traffic control
Months before Wednesday’s deadly aircraft collision, lawmakers were engaged in a fierce debate over safety at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Less than a year ago, several Washington-area lawmakers warned that a bill adding more flights to the airport could pose serious safety concerns. Last spring, a major aviation bill passed by Congress and signed by then-President Joe Biden added five new daily long-haul flights at Reagan National Airport.
The airport is among the busiest in the country and pilots routinely rate it among the nation’s most challenging, according to NBC Washington.
The air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan National Airport was facing personnel issues on the night of the crash, according to the New York Times. Staffing “was not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” according to an internal preliminary Federal Aviation Administration safety report.
The controller who was handling helicopters near the airport “was also instructing planes that were landing and departing from its runways.”
“Those jobs typically are assigned to two controllers, rather than one,” the Times reported. The outlet noted that the tower at the airport had been understaffed for years.
One staff member was reportedly allowed to leave early on the night of the crash, the source told The Times. The specific timings were not immediately clear.
Soldiers aboard Black Hawk helicopter were “experienced”
The helicopter crew was “very experienced” and were not unfamiliar with the aircraft or the congestion that occurs in the airspace around D.C.
“Both pilots had flown this specific route before, at night. This wasn’t something new to either one of them,” Jonathan Koziol, chief of staff for Army aviation said. “Even the crew chief in the back has been in the unit for a very long time, very familiar with the area, very familiar with the routing structure.”
NTSB officials said it was “too soon to tell,” exactly what was the fault of the collision.
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One of the soldiers has been named as Ryan O’Hara, the Crew Chief and father-of-one from Georgia.
“Ryan is fondly remembered as a guy who would fix things around the ROTC gym as well as a vital member of the Rifle Team. Ryan leaves behind a wife and 1-year-old son,” Parkview High School JROTC in Atlanta wrote in a Facebook post which has since been removed, WSB-TV Atlanta reported.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves was also on the army helicopter, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said on X.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Eaves’ wife, Carrie Eaves said: “We ask that you pray for our family and friends and for all the other families that are suffering today. We ask for peace while we grieve,” the post read. “These families’ children do not need to suffer more pain.”
Divers search day and night in difficult conditions
A fleet of divers combed the Potomac River in search of survivors Wednesday night and continued Thursday morning.
So far, 40 bodies have been recovered.
“The challenges are access. The water that we’re operating in is about 8 feet deep,” District of Columbia Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said on Wednesday night. “There is wind, there is pieces of ice out there. So it’s just dangerous and hard to work in.”
He continued: “And because there’s not a lot of lights, you’re out there searching every square inch of space to see if you can find anybody.
“Divers are doing the same thing in the water. The water is dark, it is murky, and that is a very tough condition for them to dive in.”
Authorities said they were “confident” all of the bodies would be recovered but it would “take time.”
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ore. (KPTV) – The Washington County Sheriff’s Office released video of deputies using a drone to track down a man wanted for damaging a car.
On Saturday, May 30, a 911 caller reported a man damaging a car outside their home on Southwest 179th Avenue in Aloha. The sheriff’s office said it was reported the suspect, 21-year-old Santos Paulino Castro-Ramirez, was punching the car.
Deputies used a drone to follow the suspect as he ran toward Southwest Barcelona Lane. The sheriff’s office said Castro-Ramirez then entered a white SUV that did not belong to him on SW Barcelona.
Deputies arrested Castro-Ramirez. He was booked into the Washington County Jail for first-degree burglary and attempt to commit a crime – second-degree theft.
Copyright 2026 KPTV-KPDX. All rights reserved.
Beirut, Lebanon – On Tuesday, representatives from Lebanon and Israel met at the US Department of State in Washington, DC – the first session of a two-day round of negotiations that Lebanese negotiators hope will end an invasion of their country.
The negotiations, which started at 9am local time (13:00 GMT), come as Israel’s invasion of Lebanon pushes deeper than at any point since the year 2000 and as Hezbollah and Israel continue to trade attacks. Israel has killed 3,468 people in Lebanon since March 2, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.
With the war raging on, what do Lebanon and Israel have to discuss and will the talks lead to an end of the Israeli assault?
Here’s everything you need to know.
What will Israel and Lebanon discuss?
Similar to past meetings, the two sides are ostensibly looking to come to some kind of deal following fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, with strong doubts it will be achieved.
Lebanon’s government is still pushing for a total ceasefire. However, as talks started, Israel was striking various parts of southern Lebanon. Lebanon is also trying to get Israel to withdraw from Lebanese territory in the south, so that more than 1.2 million displaced people can return home, and so the state can resume finding a way to disarm Hezbollah and rebuild areas devastated by Israeli attacks.
Israel is meanwhile looking to get assurances that Lebanon will disarm Hezbollah, a prospect analysts say Israel knows is complicated by the continuation of its military operations and occupation of swaths of southern Lebanon. Instead, Israel appears to be trying to fuel sectarian tensions inside Lebanon, leading to chaos and internal strife.
What has happened so far?
An initial meeting took place in April between Israel and Lebanon’s ambassadors to the United States. A second round took place in May with a larger delegation on both sides.
On Friday, a meeting took place with Lebanese and Israeli military representatives, while Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese group, is not involved in the meetings.
Israel claimed the two sides found common ground in that they both wanted to see Hezbollah disarmed. Some Israeli officials suggested there may soon be trade agreements and an exchange of tourists between the two countries. Lebanon, however, said it preferred to find a deal closer to the 1949 armistice agreement between the two countries.
In the last meeting, Beirut reportedly outlined the damage done by Israeli attacks since the 2024 ceasefire agreement and presented detailed maps showing homes destroyed or razed by Israel.
Is there a chance for a ceasefire?
That remains to be seen, but for now, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country’s military would continue attacking Lebanon.
On Monday, Netanyahu announced that attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs would resume, despite a ceasefire. Apart from two targeted attacks, Israel has not struck the suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, since April.
Iran, which has attempted to include Lebanon in a wider ceasefire between themselves, on one side, and Israel and the US on the other, then intervened by threatening to attack northern Israel.
US President Donald Trump reportedly intervened to stop Israel’s attacks. He announced another ceasefire, after his previous announcement of one between Israel and Lebanon on April 16, after claiming he had gotten the approval of Netanyahu and spoken to Hezbollah.
“There will be no troops going to Beirut, and any troops that are on their way have already been turned back,” Trump announced on his social media platform, Truth Social.
But attacks from Israel and Hezbollah are continuing.
How do Lebanese people feel about the talks?
Not everyone is on the same page.
Some Lebanese support the talks and say they are the only option the state, which has little leverage, has. Among those who believe direct talks are the best way forward are Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.
“There is no option other than negotiation,” Aoun said in a statement on Tuesday.
Others, however, oppose direct talks. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and his allies, Hezbollah, have said indirect talks are preferred and that negotiations cannot be conducted while attacks are ongoing.
How are Iran and the US connected?
Israel and the US attacked Iran on February 28, killing the country’s longtime leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran is Hezbollah’s primary benefactor, and two days after Khamenei’s assassination, Hezbollah fired six rockets towards Israel on 2 March.
Hezbollah’s response brought a huge response from Israel, who have crossed the Litani River – the supposed buzzer zone in southern Lebanon it had created – towards the Zahrani River.
Despite a 2024 ceasefire, Israel had never stopped attacking Lebanon, while Hezbollah had only responded once in December 2024.
Iran has attempted to include Lebanon in the ceasefire deal it has with the United States and Israel, who say this theatre is not part of the agreement.
Although Trump has now announced a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel twice, the invasion of southern Lebanon continues.
Are there other actors involved?
Gulf states have also intervened. Saudi Arabia has been working behind the scenes to get Lebanon’s leadership – Aoun, Salam and Berri – on the same page. Meanwhile, analysts say Saudi Arabia and Qatar engaged the Trump administration to stop an escalation in Lebanon.
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