Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 30, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 26, 2026
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Audio captures the moments before and after a Washington crash involving a Black Hawk helicopter and a CRJ700 jet over the Potomac River.
By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Air traffic control audio recorded the final moments before and after the crash of an American Airlines regional passenger jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter after a midair collision in Washington on Wednesday night.
Audio from LiveATC.net, a respected source for in-flight recording, captured the final communications between the three crew members of the helicopter - call sign PAT25 - before it collided with the CRJ700 Bombardier jet carrying 64 passengers and crew.
"PAT25, do you have a CRJ in sight? PAT25, pass behind the CRJ," an air traffic controller said at 8.47 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday (01:47 GMT on Thursday).
Seconds later, another aircraft called in to air traffic control, saying, "Tower, did you see that?" - apparently referring to the crash. An air traffic controller then redirected planes heading to runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport to go around.
The explosion in midair occurred over the frigid Potomac River near the airport.
"Crash, crash, crash, this is an alert three," one of the air traffic controllers can be heard saying in the audio from around the time of the crash.
"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," another controller remarked.
"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."
The crash was caught on a webcam at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. The clip shows the aircraft exploding in flames and plummeting to earth after it is struck by the helicopter.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington, editing by Ross Colvin and Gareth Jones)
An American Airlines regional passenger jet collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter, resulting in both aircraft crashing into the Potomac River.
The audio captured the final communications between the helicopter crew and air traffic control, including alerts and observations about the crash.
The crash occurred over the Potomac River near the airport, and both the helicopter and the plane ended up in the river.
Yes, the crash was recorded on a webcam at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, showing the aircraft exploding in flames.
Air traffic controllers quickly assessed the situation, with one declaring an alert and indicating that operations would be shut down indefinitely.
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