By: Katie Borders 

National/World News Editor

On Jan. 29, 2025, at around 8:48 PM, the United States Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter collided midair with American Airline Flight 5342 over the Potomac River near Washington DC. The plane, descending and approaching Runway 33, was less than 20 minutes away from landing when the collision occurred. Both the US Black Hawk helicopter and the American Airlines plane plummeted down into the frigid river in a cloud of burning debris, with the plane carrying 60 passengers and four crew members and the US Black Hawk helicopter carrying three military personnel. After sending out an immediate search and rescue attempt to find any possible survivors, officials tragically concluded to the devastation of many that there were no survivors from the crash. First responders continue to recover bodies, with at least 41 bodies recovered so far — 28 of which remain unidentified. The nation mourns the shocking tragedy, and an investigation of the cause is underway.

The CEO and executive director of the Skating Club at Boston, Dough Zeghibe, stated that two adolescent figure skaters, their mothers, and two renowned Russian figure skating coaches were among the 14 members of the US Figure Skating Team aboard the American Airlines plane that crashed into the Potomac River. The US Figure Skating Team members had been returning from the National Development Camp in Wichita, Kansas after the US Championships. US Figure Skaters across the nation paid tribute to and commemorated the memory of the 14 ice skaters and parents who lost their lives in the crash.

Hamaad Raza, husband to one of the passengers in the fatal plane crash, received a final text from his wife before the collision, in which she texted, “We’re landing in 20.” Raza had been waiting to pick his wife up from the Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington DC. Tragically, the US Black Hawk helicopter collided with Flight 5342 soon after the text was sent. Raza as well as many other families grieve and mourn the devastating loss of their loved ones. 

The regional airline awarded posthumous honors to the crew members who were aboard the passenger jet, which included Captain Jonathan Campos, 34, Co-Pilot and Second Attendant Sam Lilley, 28, who was set to get married this fall, and flight attendants Danasia Elder and Ian Epstein. Among the soldiers aboard the Black Hawk Helicopter were Staff Sergeant Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, 39, and Captain Rebecca M. Lobach, 28.

The Federal Aviation Administration continues to lead an investigation to find out the cause of the crash, as the Black Hawk helicopter appears to have ignored a warning from air traffic control 30 seconds before it flew into the path of the passenger plane, colliding with each other and crashing into the Potomac River.

(Sources: BBC, CBS News, CNN, Live 5 WCSC, NY Times, The Guardian)