Chilling reaction to American Airlines helicopter crash heard in air traffic control audio

19 bodies have so far been pulled from the Potomac River so far, after an American Airlines passenger plane collided with a US Army helicopter, in what's been described as an incident "heartbreaking beyond measure".

It's thought there were three soldiers aboard the Black Hawk and 64 passengers and crew aboard the plane when the crash happened around 21:00 local time (2:00 GMT),

The plane was on the approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, having flown from Wichita, Kansas.

There have been no survivors from the crash, and US Figure Skating said "several members of our skating community were sadly aboard" the flight.

Over 300 first responders worked tirelessly among "wind and ice" in "dangerous" conditions to search for bodies.

And now in audio released, thought to be of the air traffic control exchange when the crash happened, the chilling reaction of those navigating the situation can be heard.

"PAT25, do you have a CRJ in sight? PAT25, pass behind the CRJ," an air traffic controller said at 20:47 ET.

Moments later, another aircraft called in to air traffic control, saying, "Tower, did you see that?" - thought to be referring to the crash. An air traffic controller then redirected planes heading to runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport to go around.

"Crash, crash, crash, this is an alert three," the air traffic controllers then add.

"I don't know if you caught earlier what happened, but there was a collision on the approach into 33. We're going to be shutting down operations for the indefinite future."

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"Both the helicopter and the plane crashed in the river," a third air traffic controller can be heard saying.

"It was probably out in the middle of the river," the controller said. "I just saw a fireball and then it was just gone. I haven't seen anything since they hit the river. But it was a CRJ and a helicopter that hit."

Donald Trump, who has expressed his desire to privatise air traffic control in recent days, posted on Truth Social in response to the crash: "Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders.

"This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!"

We're now awaiting further details on what exactly happened.

This article was originally published on 30 January 2025

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