Here’s what happened minutes before the American Airlines plane crashed in Washington DC
The plane had nearly made it to the runway for landing
The terrifying minutes before the tragic explosion of an American Airlines plane which was carrying 64 people after it collided with an army helicopter in Washington DC have been revealed.
Both the American Airlines flight and the military helicopter ended up plunging straight into the Potomac River and it’s believed no survivors out of the 67 people involved will be found.
In the moments leading up to the shocking crash, the plane was on the approach to runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport. The Black Hawk military helicopter, which is usually based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, was on a training flight.
A few minutes before it was supposed to land, the American Airlines flight was permitted to approach the runway. Seconds before the aircraft crashed, air traffic controllers checked with the helicopter pilot that they had the arriving plane in sight. Everything appeared to be as normal.
The plane was travelling at an altitude of about 400ft and a speed of 140mph when it suffered a quick loss of altitude over the Potomac River, according to the flight tracking information that was available.
The tragic footage shows a flash of light in the sky at 8:47pm local time (which was around 1:47am UK time) appearing to show the moment the aircraft crashed and burst into flames.
Just one minute later, an alert was sounded at 8:48pm, and the first units arrived on the scene at 8:58pm. 11 minutes after the devastating crash, and found a plane in the water.
Most Read
In the immediate aftermath of the crash, Air Traffic Control audio emerged from around the time of the incident. In the 90-second recording, Air Traffic Control operators can be heard asking the helicopter if the commercial flight is in sight.
A controller says: “Um, 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 (the type of plane that crashed) and a helicopter that hit, I would say a half-mile off the approach.”
Recovery efforts are being focused on the aircraft in the Potomac River and flights have been diverted to Washington-Baltimore International Airport.
Latest
Here’s what happened minutes before the American Airlines plane crashed in Washington DC
The plane had nearly made it to the runway for landing
Maya Jama has a SECRET villa on the Love Island All Stars set that we don’t see
She calls it her ‘waiting house’
These hidden Netflix shows you’ve never heard of have a flawless 100 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes
Let’s pause the third rewatch of The Office
People just found the stupidest error in Squid Game where a player is wearing an airpod
How was nobody fired for this?!
Debunked: A picture of ‘Ariana Grande’ has gone viral, but who the heck actually is it!?
Uncanny valley thriving in 2025
Love Island’s Danielle looks SO different in old pics from her first time in the villa
No wonder no one remembers her
Measly amount of compensation the ‘mermaid’ attacked by a giant fish got for her injuries
The performer was almost swallowed by the fish
Liam Payne will star posthumously in a new Netflix singing competition show
The show sounds like a combination of X Factor and Love Is Blind
CNN faces backlash for ‘insensitive’ reporting that there were no VIPs in Washington crash
It was one of the first outlets to break the story
Here’s what happened minutes before the American Airlines plane crashed in Washington DC
The plane had nearly made it to the runway for landing
Maya Jama has a SECRET villa on the Love Island All Stars set that we don’t see
She calls it her ‘waiting house’
These hidden Netflix shows you’ve never heard of have a flawless 100 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes
Let’s pause the third rewatch of The Office
People just found the stupidest error in Squid Game where a player is wearing an airpod
How was nobody fired for this?!
Debunked: A picture of ‘Ariana Grande’ has gone viral, but who the heck actually is it!?
Uncanny valley thriving in 2025
Love Island’s Danielle looks SO different in old pics from her first time in the villa
No wonder no one remembers her
Measly amount of compensation the ‘mermaid’ attacked by a giant fish got for her injuries
The performer was almost swallowed by the fish
Liam Payne will star posthumously in a new Netflix singing competition show
The show sounds like a combination of X Factor and Love Is Blind
CNN faces backlash for ‘insensitive’ reporting that there were no VIPs in Washington crash
It was one of the first outlets to break the story