A PSA Airlines regional jet and a Sikorsky UH-60 helicopter from the US Army collided in flight near Ronald Reagan Washington National airport the evening of 29 January, with reports saying both aircraft crashed.
The PSA MHIRJ CRJ700 was operating flight 5342 from Wichita for American Airlines, says the Federal Aviation Administration.
“A PSA Airlines… CRJ700 regional jet collided in mid-air with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on approach to runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 pm local time,” says the FAA.
American Airlines, which owns PSA, tells FlightGlobal that it is ”aware of reports that American Eagle flight 5342… has been involved in an incident”, adding that it will provide updates as they become available.
Local media are reporting a large-scale rescue operation. Ronald Reagan Washington National airport closed for “all take-offs and landings” at around 21:00, the airport said on social media.
Video circulating on social media appears to show the incident.
The footage shows the lights of an aircraft approaching to land at Reagan National. That aircraft is then struck by another. One or both aircraft appear to then plummet.
PSA’s CRJ700s are configured to seat 65 passengers.
The incident aircraft (N709PS) was built in 2004 according to FAA registration data.
The US Army subsequently confirmed the incident rotrocraft was a UH-60M Black Hawk assigned to nearby Fort Belvoir in Virginia, operating with three crew onboard.
