The Washington, DC, area housing market has seen an increase in homes being listed for sale as more government employees have either been laid off or have accepted buyouts.
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First lady Melania Trump announced that public tours of the White House that had been placed on pause would be resuming later this month, expressing that there was "much to learn," not just about the presidency, but about the first families who have lived there.
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An anti-Israel student group at Georgetown University's law school planned to hold an event on campus headlined by a Palestinian terror group member convicted for his role in the killing of a 17-year-old Israeli girl.
But the event was postponed by the university. Now, a Jewish legal advocacy group is calling on the law school to formally cancel the event.
Flyers on campus, captured in images taken by a Georgetown law student and shared with Fox News Digital, show that Georgetown Law Students for Justice in Palestine organized an event with Ribhi Karajah for Feb. 11.
"Palestinian Prisoners, an evening with Ribhi Karajah, student activist and former political prisoner," the flyer states, adding that Karajah will speak to students about his "arrest, detention, and torture in the Israeli military judicial system."
TRUMP MOVES TO DEPORT HAMAS-SYMPATHIZING STUDENTS
Karajah, a U.S. citizen, was arrested, along with two members of the U.S.-designated terror group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and spent 3½ years in prison for his involvement in an August 2019 roadside bombing that killed a young Israeli named Rina Shnerb and seriously injured her father and brother. Karajh was informed of intimate details of the attack by associates within the PFLP and subsequently admitted in a plea agreement he did nothing to stop it.
Karajah also spent several months in an Israeli prison in 2017 while attending Birzeit University, a school known to be a hotbed for terrorist sympathizers. According to Jewish activist Adar Rubin, the director of mobilization at End Jew Hatred, Karajah has promoted PFLP leadership on social media and spoken at PFLP-sponsored events.
While the student group cited inclement weather on social media as the reason for postponing Karajah's event, it said in a statement that, two days before the event, the law school instructed the student group to postpone the event so that the university "could conduct a thorough investigation into serious safety and security concerns that had arisen in connection with the event."
Now, The Lawfare Project, a legal advocacy group that supports students facing antisemitism on campus, is calling on the university to cancel the event. In a letter sent to the dean and vice dean of Georgetown's law school Wednesday, The Lawfare Project cited federal law against providing material support for terrorism.
"Under 18 U.S.C. § 2339A, the term ‘material support or resources’ includes, but is not limited to, expert advice or assistance, lodging, training, personnel, and services. The U.S. Supreme Court, in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project (2010), upheld a broad interpretation of this statute, ruling that even seemingly benign support, such as providing a platform to an FTO member, can further terrorism and violate federal law," The Lawfare Project said in its letter to the dean of Georgetown's law school, William Treanor.
"By permitting Karajah to speak on its campus, GULC risks providing material support to a known terrorist operative. … The fact that this event was organized by a recognized student group does not absolve the university of liability."
BLUE STATE DEMOCRATS SPEARHEAD BILLS TO CRACK DOWN ON CAMPUS ANTISEMITISM
The Lawfare Project is also calling for Georgetown to reveal whether any law school administrators were aware of Karajah's affiliation with the PFLP before approving the event. As of Thursday, the group told Fox News Digital it had not heard back from the university.
During Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent trip to the nation's capital, he met with several U.S. college students and recent graduates who have been at the front of rising anti-Israel sentiment on college campuses. During the discussion with these students, Netanyahu was told about the event by Julia Wax Vanderwiel, founder and president of Georgetown Law Zionists.
"[Netanyahu] had a very visceral reaction to my speech," she told Jewish Insider. "He’s appalled [about the upcoming event]. He said he knows exactly who [the murdered 17-year-old] is. He’s met the family. He said that we need to stay strong. He genuinely listened, cared and wants something done."
Vanderweil added in comments to Jewish Insider that Karajah's "presence on our campus threatens the security of all Jewish students."
The White House has fired the inspector general of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Fox News has learned.
USAID Inspector General Paul Martin was fired Tuesday, though rather than coming from USAID acting administrator and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the firing reportedly came from the White House Office of Presidential Personnel.
The dismissal comes days after the USAID inspector general published a report that was critical of the Trump administration’s pause on aid.
It also comes a day after USAID warned that the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID had made it all but impossible to monitor $8.2 billion in humanitarian funds.
DESIGNATED TERRORISTS, EXTREMIST GROUPS RAKED IN MILLIONS FROM USAID, MULTIYEAR STUDY REVEALS
USAID is under fire from the Trump administration as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its chair, Elon Musk, investigate the agency’s spending practices and prepare to revamp and potentially shutter the agency.
The agency announced on its website Feb. 4, that nearly all personnel would be placed on leave by Friday, making a few exceptions for those in roles related to "mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs."
Its overseas missions reportedly had also been told to shut down.
USAID EMPLOYEE SAYS STAFFERS HID PRIDE FLAGS, 'INCRIMINATING' BOOKS WHEN DOGE ARRIVED
Lawmakers, news outlets and think tanks have dug into past reports related to USAID spending amid the apparent dismantling of the agency, finding countless examples of money channeled to questionable organizations or programs, such as creating a version of "Sesame Street" in Iraq, or funding pottery classes in Morocco.
This week, it was discovered that USAID provided millions of dollars in funding to extremist groups tied to designated terrorist organizations and their allies, according to a report published by Middle East Forum, a U.S. think tank.
USAID was established in 1961 under the Kennedy administration, operating as an independent agency that works closely with the State Department to allocate civilian foreign aid.
Under Rubio, the agency could be abolished after its reorganization over the coming days, he said in a letter to bipartisan lawmakers on Feb. 3.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed on Tuesday that some Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) employees who worked on "mis-, dis-, and malinformation" were put on administrative leave.
In a statement to Scripps News, DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote CISA needs to "refocus on its mission," starting with election security.
"The agency is undertaking an evaluation of how it has executed its election security mission with a particular focus on any work related to mis-, dis-, and malinformation," according to the statement.
As first reported by Fox News Digital, then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified in April 2022 that the Department of Homeland Security was creating a "Disinformation Governance Board" to combat misinformation ahead of the 2022 midterm election.
During an appearance before the House Appropriations Subcommittee, Mayorkas said a "Disinformation Governance Board" was created to address misinformation campaigns targeting minority communities.
MAYORKAS RIPS ‘POLITICIZED’ ATMOSPHERE OVER FEMA DISASTER RESPONSE AMID GOP CRITICISM'
While the agency conducts the assessment, personnel who worked on the alleged "mis-, dis-, and malinformation," as well as foreign influence operations and disinformation, will remain on administrative leave, according to the statement.
The board was allegedly led by Undersecretary for Policy Rob Silvers, co-chair with principal deputy general counsel Jennifer Gaskill.
Nina Jankowicz, who previously served as a disinformation fellow at the Wilson Center, reportedly served as executive director, Politico reported.
Fox News Digital's Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
FIRST ON FOX: In the heat of the 2024 election cycle, the name Project 2025 was on the lips of Democrats and mainstream media figures everywhere, until it was not.
President Donald Trump’s win ushered in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its de-facto leader, Elon Musk. At the same time, Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, launched DOGE committees in Congress, and Project 2025 appeared to fall to the political wayside.
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, who wrote the foreword to Project 2025 and whose organization published the anthology, said voters’ collective voices ushered in Trump and DOGE’s current work, not necessarily the policy proposals of Washington’s conservative "do-tank" or scholars inside-the-beltway writ-large.
"The American people delivered a clear mandate in November: dismantle the bloated, unaccountable bureaucracy that is the Deep State. And the latest polling – a 53% approval rating - confirms overwhelming support for President Trump’s efforts to do just that," he said.
PROJECT 2025 REMAINS NONPARTISAN, TRUE TO 1980S GOOD-GOVT INCEPTION DESPITE WILD OUTCRY: KEY FIGURES
When asked about liberals’ panic over Project 2025 and how it has been muted with the rise of DOGE, Roberts suggested the left will latch onto anything to make an issue out of it if they believe they can make gains.
"The Left has no new ideas—just unpopular ones. When they fail to win on substance, they simply choose to attack. First, it was Project 2025. Now, it’s DOGE. Different name, same baseless fearmongering," Roberts said in a Monday interview. "But make no mistake: the American people are ready for real change, and we’re not backing down."
Trump, himself, repeatedly dispelled allegations he and Project 2025 – a thousand-page policy proposal product of the conservative Heritage Foundation – were joined at the political hip.
Meanwhile, Heritage leaders past and present, like Reagan Attorney General Edwin Meese and Roberts himself have rejected claims there has been anything radical about Project 2025.
"In the first one, in 1981, it was much more organizational, with information on structure and organizational norms, where – later on in 1989 – it was much more individual policy issues-based," he said.
The quadrennial work has been published under various titles and compositions since the 1980 presidential cycle, with some exceptions.
Nonetheless, Project 2025 became styled as a "right-wing boogeyman" talking point on the left.
TRUMP PLANS FIRST PRESIDENTIAL VISIT TO HELENE-RAVAGED NC
Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., founded the "Stop Project 2025 Task Force" last year, comparing the project to a "Blitzkrieg" and saying that lawmakers must understand it and "prepare ourselves accordingly."
At the Democratic National Convention, both Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., and Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia, held up copies of Project 2025 on stage.
"It is a radical plan to drag us backwards, bankrupt the middle class, and raise prices on working class families like yours and mine," said Kenyatta, who has since been elected DNC vice chairman along with gun control activist David Hogg.
The Project’s rumored reputation became fodder for constituents at town halls as well, including in one swing-seat congressional race where a Republican’s incredulous response led to a viral moment, according to Politico.
PROJECT 2025 ISSUES BLISTERING RESPONSE TO HARRIS VIA DOZENS OF INDEPENDENT FACT CHECKS
New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean Jr. was asked about Project 2025 at such an event and responded he had never read the document.
"The first time I’ve ever heard of being supportive of it was when I was accused of supporting it," Kean reportedly replied.
DOGE’s ruminations about reforming or trimming the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) – which have enraged the likes of its proverbial "founder" Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. – were, however, mirrored in the policy proposal anthology.
"Elon Musk and the guy who wrote Project 2025, Russ Vought, are trying to kill the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau," Warren said Monday. "If they succeed, CEOs and Wall Street will once again be free to trick, trap and cheat you."
Vought did not write Project 2025. He was credited as the author for Chapter 2, which analyzes the executive office of the president.
DOGE MEETS CONGRESS: GOP LAWMAKER LAUNCHES CAUCUS TO HELP MUSK ‘TAKE ON CRAZYTOWN’
Former Chase-Manhattan Bank Vice President Robert Bowes called CFPB "highly politicized, damaging, and utterly unaccountable" in a section of the project he authored.
"It is unconstitutional. Congress should abolish the CFPB and reverse Dodd–Frank Section 1061, thus returning the consumer protection function of the CFPB to banking regulators," Bowes wrote.
Recent media headlines have tried to tie DOGE to the project, with critical stories headlined "Project 2025 Architect" in reference to people like Vought.
Roberts said Trump’s team should be the beneficiary of such headlines, in that "he and his team deserve the credit" – and that it is a welcome sight that people who embody Heritage’s guiding principles are being tapped for top positions in the new administration.
"Heritage is thrilled to see President Trump appoint so many hardworking patriots who put America First. Russ is one of the great statesmen of our age—a brilliant, principled leader with the vision and intellect to take on ‘The Swamp’ and win."
"Between Russ at the helm of OMB and Elon at the helm of DOGE, they will rein in wasteful spending, restore fiscal discipline, and ensure that our government serves the people—not the other way around."
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One of Trump and Musk’s more recent major endeavors – taking an ax to USAID – is more a project of DOGE, while Project 2025 suggests a more measured approach to rein in the agency’s expenditures and politicization.
That project section, authored by former agency COO Max Primorac, describes USAID as having been "deformed" by the Biden administration to pursue a "divisive political and cultural agenda."
Primorac suggests the next administration "scale back" USAID’s global footprint and return it to pre-COVID budget levels while "deradicalizing" its programs and cutting its international affairs accounts.
Additionally, former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli wrote in Project 2025 that the president should "pursue legislation to dismantle the Department of Homeland Security" and that it has not "gelled into one DHS" as was its goal when founded after 9/11.Cuccinelli had argued that breaking up DHS along "mission[-related] lines" would lead to a more effective government apparatus.
Instead, Trump and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem have expanded DHS’ role versus the Biden administration, including the addition of former ICE acting Director Tom Homan as border czar.
Breitbart News is better than ever, with an exploding influence even Democrat politicians and the establishment media cannot ignore.
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Federal workers in Washington, D.C., are experiencing job instability for the first time ever, and the whole city is in a "panic," according to one report.
President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are cutting spending and terminating government programs left and right, leading to layoffs, buyouts and a shell-shocked Capitol not even 3 weeks into his second term.
"Washington already feels like a transformed place," Politico senior editor Michael Schaeffer wrote in a Friday column. "And it won’t just snap back even if the crusade ends tomorrow. … something essential in the culture has shifted."
In his piece, titled, "‘Are We Detroit Now?’: Trump’s Cuts Panic Washington," Schaeffer took stock of the sudden anguish and anxiety experienced by government workers living in one of the richest and most expensive areas of the country.
NEARLY ALL USAID WORKERS TO BE LAID OFF: REPORT
"It is a very difficult time in D.C.," Yesim Sayin, the executive director of the D.C. Policy Center, said. "The uncertainties are so big. There’s a whole industry contingent on the federal government spending money."
"It’s hard to express just how unfamiliar base-level uncertainty is in Washington," Schaeffer said. "The city has always felt like a company town where the company will never go out of business. While most of us don’t actually work for the government, its permanence shapes our expectations, and not just in four-year increments. Assumptions about Washington’s essence inform decisions about buying a house or building a life."
"It’s essentially like a nuclear bomb falls and destroys all your future plans," Sayin added.
While Trump’s moves have affected contractors, Schaeffer says that workers in the nation’s Capitol are experiencing a "novel element to a city built on government stability: economic paranoia" and "a Beltway category that didn’t really exist until recently: waiting around to be fired."
"For generations, the staid predictability of federal paychecks and government contracts has defined Washington life even for the many folks who don’t work for Uncle Sam," Schaeffer wrote. "Now there’s a sudden awareness that those payments may not be so predictable. It’s a bewildering, vertiginous feeling: an industry town when the industry starts to wobble."
FEDERAL JUDGE DELAYS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S BUYOUT DEADLINE FOR FEDERAL WORKERS
With Trump’s mandate that federal workers accept a buyout or return to work in-person, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and two other unions filed a complaint, saying the buyout offer is "arbitrary and capricious" and that it violates federal law.
Over 40,000 workers have agreed to the buyout, and on Thursday a federal judge pushed the administration’s deadline to accept the buyout or resign from Thursday to Monday.
As white collar federal bureaucrats worried the city is turning into Detroit during the collapse of the auto industry, Schaeffer spoke to Ron Fournier, a former DC journalist who moved back to Motor City, who confirmed the comparisons.
Fournier predicted that the D.C. workforce "is not going to recover."
"It’s hard to come back from being in what you thought was a stable industry, and then you wake up one day and you realize it’s not," Fournier said. "It’s always going to change the way people in your town look at their history and how secure they feel, and how comfortable they feel, and how optimistic they feel. It’s a blow for the psyche that is not going to recover."
President Donald Trump announced on Friday he decided to immediately fire multiple Kennedy Center board members, including the chairman, and fill that role himself.
Trump claimed he and current chair David Rubenstein "do not share [the same] Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture," according to the announcement on Truth Social.
He said a new board would be announced soon, adding the new chairman, naming himself, is "amazing."
INDIANA JUDGE RULES PRISON MUST PROVIDE TRANSGENDER SURGERY FOR INMATE WHO KILLED BABY
"Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP," Trump wrote in the post.
The Kennedy Center in October hosted a Dancing Queens Drag Brunch at its Roof Terrace Restaurant in October, featuring Washington, D.C.'s "most fabulous drag performers," according to its website.
The October event featured 2024 Capital Pride Honoree, Tula, and other drag performers "representing the diversity of D.C.’s queer community," according to the site.
Tickets were sold for nearly $100 each, with reservations required, and included bottomless mimosas.
TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDERS BANNING 'RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGY,' DEI INITIATIVES IN THE MILITARY
Following Trump's announcement, the Kennedy Center's website limited users, citing "high traffic."
Hundreds of visitors had to queue in an online waiting room to view the site.
In his post, Trump called the center "an American jewel," and said it must reflect the nation's "brightest stars" on its stage.
"At my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., GREAT AGAIN," the President wrote. "For the Kennedy Center, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!"
It is unclear which Board of Trustees members have been canned, as of Friday night.
A Trump-appointed judge said at an emergency hearing on Friday that he would put a temporary block on the administration's plan to put 2,200 U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employees on paid leave by midnight, Fox News has learned.
He also told a government lawyer that he’s not sure whether he would include the 500 employees already placed on leave in his order.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols sided with two federal employee associations – the American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees – who filed lawsuits over the order on Thursday.
Government officials "failed to acknowledge the catastrophic consequences of their actions, both as they pertain to American workers, the lives of millions around the world, and to US national interests," the lawsuit says.
USAID STAFFERS STUNNED, ANGERED BY TRUMP ADMIN'S DOGE SHUTDOWN OF $40B AGENCY
Nichols said that the plaintiffs had "established irreparable harm," adding that "there’s zero harm to the government to pausing this for some short period of time."
Nichols added that it would be a "very limited" temporary restraining order.
"CLOSE IT DOWN!" President Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier Friday of the agency, claiming corruption there is "AT LEVELS RARELY SEEN BEFORE."
An official with USAID told reporters on Friday that the agency had "ceased to exist," with the majority of employees gone and funding stopped.
WHAT IS USAID AND WHY IS IT IN TRUMP'S CROSSHAIRS?
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the most crucial life-saving programs administrated by USAID overseas were given waivers to continue.
USAID was founded by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 and had more than 10,000 employees and a budget of about $40 billion a year.
On Friday, the USAID website said that at midnight "all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs. Essential personnel expected to continue working will be informed by Agency leadership by Thursday, February 6, at 3:00pm (EST)."
Trump and Elon Musk, who runs the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency, have said they might move USAID’s surviving life-saving programs under the State Department.
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Rubio said the U.S. government will continue providing foreign aid, "but it is going to be foreign aid that makes sense and is aligned with our national interest."
Democratic critics have said the move is illegal and needs Congressional approval.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Demonstrators flocked to the streets of major cities across the country on Wednesday, in protest of President Donald Trump’s aggressive agenda on topics like the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), immigration, tariffs, gender, labor and more.
Since his return to the Oval Office on Jan. 20, Trump has pressed forward with an agenda that puts America first at all costs, whether it is deporting dangerous criminals living in the U.S. illegally or offering buyouts to federal employees with an ultimatum to either return to the office or search for work.
But with what critics say is a harsh approach to leading the country, Trump has ruffled a few feathers, causing people to protest around the country.
The Associated Press reported that the protests were the result of a movement that has organized online under the hashtags #buildtheresistance and #50501, which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, one day. Websites and accounts across social media called for action with messages like, "reject fascism" and "defend our democracy."
In Austin, Texas, hundreds of protesters took to the streets after protesting on the steps of the state Capitol building.
As the protesters marched, they held signs that read, "Fight, our lives depend on it," "Impeach the b- - - -," and "Texas deserves better," while donning an LGBTQ+ flag and chanting, "Si Se Puede," or in English, "Yes we can."
Protesters also held signs objecting to any influence billionaire Elon Musk may have on the presidency.
About 80 miles south in San Antonio, Texas, hundreds of students from the city’s independent school district walked out in protest of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and mass deportations.
Video posted to social media shows protesters holding signs that said, "This country was made by immigrants," and "The People United Will Defend Immigrant Families," and "The People will Defeat Trump’s Extreme-Right Agenda," while holding flags with Che Guevara, a Cuban revolutionary leader and Marxist who was born in Argentina and became a left-wing hero.
The scenes were similar around the country.
'DEPORTATION FLIGHTS HAVE BEGUN' AS TRUMP SENDS 'STRONG AND CLEAR MESSAGE,' WHITE HOUSE SAYS
In Los Angeles, students walked out of class and gathered in front of city hall to protest against ICE and for the rights of immigrants.
Protesters in Sacramento appeared in droves at the state capitol, shouting rhetoric against Trump and Musk.
And in Phoenix, people protested Trump’s agenda, particularly things like his stance on there only being two genders, as well as tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
While protesters had their voices heard on similar topics at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., another group protested at the U.S. Department of Labor.
Those at the Department of Labor were heard chanting, "Workers United, We’ll Never Be Divided," in protest of the Trump administration’s push to get federal workers back in the office.
Last week, the Trump administration gave nearly 2 million federal employees the option of taking a buyout and getting paid through Sept. 30, but the deadline to take the deal expires on Feb. 6.
Multiple labor unions have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration regarding the buyouts, mainly on the basis that the funds to continue to pay the employees should they take the offer have not been appropriated by Congress for that purpose.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Wreckage from the deadly midair collision near Reagan National Airport will start to be removed from the Potomac River Monday morning as officials said they have yet to locate 12 of the victims.
The collision between a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and a Bombardier CRJ700 airliner operating under PSA Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines, on Wednesday night left 67 dead. D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly, Sr. told reporters Sunday that the remains of 55 victims have been identified, as the recovery effort continues.
"We believe we're going to be able to recover all of the victims. But no, we don't know where they all are at this point," Donnelly said ahead of Monday’s operation.
Col. Francis Pera from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers said he anticipates "a successful lift," noting they will cover the wreckage with a tent to protect any human remains.
55 VICTIMS IN WASHINGTON, DC MIDAIR COLLISION PULLED FROM POTOMAC RIVER
"We do have a process where we will be watching the lift as it happens," Pera explained. "And then if there are remains in there, that will not move while we're recovering the wreckage. We will bring that wreckage to the surface of the barge. Our process [is] to immediately tent the barge to make sure that we have full discretion."
"When we begin the lift process tomorrow, our goal is to really lift as much as we can – given the fact that we are also accounting for the human remains component – and then our goal is to then transfer that, those pieces of equipment over to a flatbed trailer that will now take it over to a designated hangar, so that the investigation can begin," he added.
THIRD SOLDIER INSIDE BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER INVOLVED IN DC MIDAIR COLLISION IDENTIFIED
Pera said divers at the site are equipped with HD cameras, whose feeds are being monitored inside a support boat.
"So you honestly, you've got four or five sets of eyes looking inside [the] wreckage at the same time," he said.
Pera also said that "reuniting those lost in the tragic incident is really what keeps us all going."
"We've got teams that have been working this effort since the beginning and we're committed to making this happen," he said.
On Sunday, families of the victims visited the crash site.
Connolly said while the lift operation is ongoing, local teams "will continue to search down the shorelines and around the river to make sure that we're getting all the debris that's out there."
"And if by chance, as a member of the public, you come across some of that, you should call 911 and report it to them, and we will get it taken care of and get it examined," he said.
Preliminary flight data from the deadly plane crash in Washington, D.C., shows conflicting readings about the altitudes of a passenger jet and Army helicopter that collided near Reagan National Airport and killed everyone on board the two aircraft, investigators said over the weekend.
Data from the American Airlines flight recorder showed an altitude of 325 feet, plus or minus 25 feet, when the collision happened Wednesday night, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials told reporters on Saturday. Data in the control tower, though, showed the Black Hawk helicopter at 200 feet, the maximum allowed altitude for helicopters in the area.
The roughly 100-foot altitude discrepancy in the data has yet to be explained.
Investigators are working to retrieve data from the helicopter’s back box, which is taking more time because it became waterlogged after submerging into the Potomac River, in hopes of reconciling the difference. They also said they plan to refine the tower data, which could be less reliable.
"This is a complex investigation," said Brice Banning, NTSB investigator in charge. "There are a lot of pieces here. Our team is working hard to gather this data."
Banning detailed the last moments from the jet's two black boxes, which captured sound in the cockpit and flight data just before what became the deadliest U.S. aviation accident since 2001.
"The crew had a verbal reaction," Banning said, with the data recorder showing "the airplane beginning to increase its pitch. Sounds of impact were audible about one second later, followed by the end of the recording."
Investigators did not say whether that change in angle meant that pilots were trying to perform an evasive maneuver to avoid the crash.
The collision happened around 9 p.m. EST while the regional jet was preparing to land at the airport. The jet from Wichita, Kansas, was carrying 64 people onboard, while three soldiers were on board the helicopter, which apparently flew into the jet’s path. No one survived the crash.
NTSB member Todd Inman expressed frustration to reporters, noting that the board has made "several hundred" recommendations to improve aviation safety that have not been acted upon.
"You want to do something about it? Adopt the recommendation of the NTSB. You’ll save lives," he said, adding that he has spent hours with victims' families since the crash. "I don’t want to have to meet with those parents like that again."
Families of victims visited the crash site on Sunday and divers scoured the submerged wreckage for more remains after authorities said they've recovered and identified 55 of the 67 people killed.
Officials said they are confident all the victims will be recovered from the chilly Potomac River.
NTSB investigators hope to have a preliminary report within 30 days, though a full investigation could take at least a year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The third soldier inside the U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Airlines jet at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was identified as Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach, who had been a White House social aide under the Biden administration.
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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) holds a briefing on the latest information in the investigation of Wednesday's deadly air accident over the Potomac River.
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Ask many of Congress' frequent fliers, and they'll tell you Ronald Reagan National Airport has sent up red flags for years.
"I've long been very, very nervous about congestion at Reagan National," said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.
"The congestion of the airspace around Reagan and D.C. as a whole definitely played a part in this," said Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., a former firefighting pilot. "The sheer number of aircraft in the air is as high as it's ever been."
"A lot of aircraft transit up and down the Potomac," said Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a former Navy combat pilot and astronaut. "Getting in and out of certain areas. The Pentagon. Other military installations. Reagan right there in that highly trafficked area."
"Whenever I'm at Reagan and I see new gates being built, the terminal getting larger, I realize that there will never be another inch of runway. The skies are pretty congested," said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. "I often think there's too much activity for this small plot of land. And I'm sure there'll be a reevaluation of all of that."
The nation’s worst air disaster in nearly a quarter-century spilled into the Potomac River just short of Washington’s Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night. Sixty-seven people died after American Eagle Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kan., collided with an Army Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter feet from the runway.
Aviation experts say flying in and out of Reagan National is one of the most complicated airports in the country. The approach from both the north and south is over water. Pilots must navigate a narrow corridor above the river – but not fly over the nearby Pentagon. That’s to say nothing of piercing Washington, D.C.’s super-protective airspace. The White House and U.S. Capitol are clearly visible when planes take off to the north.
Moreover, the airport is known for notoriously short runways. The runway on which the American Eagle flight attempted to land stretches a little more than 5,200 feet. Slightly less than a mile in length.
That’s not even the main runway. Standard commercial runways average around 13,000 feet. The longest runway at Reagan National is about 7,000 feet. Plus, all three runways cross one another. Such a configuration is rarely seen at modern airports.
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Last spring, there were two incidents where planes nearly crashed into one another while crossing runways.
The runways are some of the most overused in the entire American flight system. The airport was designed to handle 14 million passengers annually. But that number spiked to 25 million in 2023. The airport accommodates a staggering 800 takeoffs and landings each day.
There were efforts to close Reagan National when Dulles International Airport opened in 1962. Dulles is a monstrosity of a campus. However, it resides nearly 30 miles from Washington, D.C., proper. The nation’s movers and shakers never gravitated to Dulles when it was so easy to fly into Reagan National, deplane, catch a cab and arrive at the State Department for a meeting 15 minutes later.
Lawmakers, aviation, national security officials and the Secret Service conducted serious conversations about permanently closing the airport after 9/11. It was thought that air traffic in and out of Reagan National posed too much of a risk to the seat of government. It wouldn’t take much for hijackers to commandeer an aircraft and reroute it to Capitol Hill.
After all, one plane crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11. The fourth plane – which went down in a field near Shanksville, Penn. – was ultimately bound for the Capitol.
That said, advocates for maintaining Reagan National argued it was nearly impossible to hijack a plane taking off and immediately send it barreling toward the Capitol. It takes a while to engineer a hijacking. There was simply not enough time to execute such a plan seconds after takeoff.
Still, authorities shuttered Reagan National for more than three weeks following 9/11. New safety rules were in place once the airport re-opened. Planes couldn’t have more than 156 seats. All passengers were required to be seated a half-hour before landing. Air marshals patrolled most if not all flights in and out of the airport.
The feds loosened many of those restrictions anywhere from a few months to nearly four years after 9/11. But that didn’t diminish questions about the safety of this particular airport.
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However, proponents of maintaining Reagan National had some of the most powerful allies in the nation: Members of Congress.
Lawmakers keep insane schedules. In fact, the invention of the jet airplane contributed to such bedlam. Lawmakers are in high demand in their districts or states – and on Capitol Hill. That’s to say nothing of conferences in Aspen or Halifax – and glitzy fundraisers in New York or San Francisco. So air travel, coupled with access to a nearby airport, is paramount in the modern Congress.
The importance of aviation is even incorporated into the Congressional vernacular.
Mondays or Tuesdays are often deemed "fly-in" days. The House and Senate don’t truly get going until late in the day during the first day of the week. Thus, votes on Monday might not unfold until 5:30 pm et in the Senate and 6:30 in the House. Depending on if the House (and sometimes the Senate) convenes on a Monday or Tuesday, Thursdays and Friday are considered "getaway" days. The House might cut town by late morning or noon on a getaway day. If the Senate doesn’t toil for five days (which has happened a lot this year, but not this week), the last vote often hits around 2:15 or 2:30 pm. on a Thursday.
Thus, lawmakers have a vested interest in keeping Reagan National operational. Even after 9/11.
Congress reauthorized programs for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for five years in 2024. But one of the most contentious issues in the bill was whether Congress should authorize additional daily "slots" for Reagan National. New, regular flights commence in a few weeks to Las Vegas, San Diego, Seattle, San Antonio and San Francisco. Lawmakers have blessed an increase of about 50 additional daily "slots" at Reagan National since the turn of the century.
It’s telling that only four senators opposed the FAA bill last year. All four were the local Washington, D.C., area senators: former Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., – who just retired – along with Sens. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Mark Warner, D-Va., and Kaine.
The Senate confirmed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on a bipartisan vote Tuesday. Duffy faced a crisis by Wednesday night. By Friday, the new secretary tightened up airspace around Reagan National for helicopters.
But like everything in Washington, the key to Reagan National is all about access. It’s hard to find any major airport on the planet located so close to the levers of power.
And as long as the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a myriad of federal agencies and lobbying shops exist in Washington, it’s doubtful that Reagan National is going anywhere.
Fox News' Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
A 30-year-old Howard University professor has been named among the victims in the midair crash that occurred on Wednesday evening at Reagan National Airport near Washington, DC.
The post PHOTO: Howard University Professor Among Victims of Midair Crash in D.C. Remembered as ‘Beautiful Young Lady’ appeared first on Breitbart.
The Senate’s lead "DOGE" lawmaker said Friday that her quest for government efficiency is beginning to come full-circle, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture instituted a return-to-work mandate she said was first spurred by a 2024 whistleblower who contacted her office.
"The Trump administration, DOGE, and I are already racking up wins for taxpayers," Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, told Fox News Digital on Friday.
"Growing up on a farm, I know what working from home really means."
President Donald Trump, too, highlighted the difference between telework in white-collar jobs and Americans in agriculture and manufacturing who don’t have the luxury of working from a desk.
In remarks to reporters, Trump said that federal workers appear less productive when working from home and that the dynamic is "unfair to the millions of people in the United States who are, in fact, working hard from job sites and not from their home."
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He also warned federal workers they would have to report to the office or, "You’re fired."
In that regard, Ernst looked back on a whistleblower who came to her and alleged that USDA's District of Columbia offices were largely vacant.
That, she said, spurred her to outline policy proposals that eventually became "DOGE" – a term popularized by Trump ally Elon Musk.
"When I first discovered that the Department of Agriculture was a ghost town, I took action to end federal employees’ abuse of telework and get the agency working for Iowa farmers," said Ernst.
"I have put bureaucrats on notice that their four-year vacation is over, and we are just beginning to get Washington back to work and serving the American people."
A memo from Acting Agriculture Secretary Gary Washington obtained by Politico on Thursday ordered senior staff "with assigned duty stations" to work from their offices full-time. Additional guidance would follow for workers without a preassigned workstation.
Ernst characterized the memo as that full-circle moment.
DOGE SENATOR SEEKS TO ENSURE FEDS CAN CONTINUE PURSUING COVID FRAUDSTERS, DEBTORS AS IG SOUNDS ALARM
Ernst reportedly brought up her early concerns about teleworking bureaucrats and unused Washington office space running up tabs on the federal ledger during a meeting with Trump and Musk at Mar-a-Lago last year.
She previously compiled a report following an investigation into government waste and abuse through which $2 trillion in savings could be realized if the issues were addressed.
In a December statement highlighting that report, the House Budget Committee – now led by Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas – said the Biden administration’s condoning of mass telework "generated complacency in the workforce while costing taxpayers billions in unnecessary maintenance and upkeep costs."
"Early success means there is much more to come," a person familiar with the Senate’s DOGE work added.
According to a report from the Government Accountability Office, only 11% of the USDA's office space was occupied in the first quarter of 2023, and 75% of available space across 17 federal agencies has remained empty since the pandemic.
Ernst built her initial pre-formal-"DOGE" probes off of the USDA whistleblower, which is why she believes the latest development mandating return-to-work for agriculture bureaucrats is the issue now coming full-circle.
Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., – the chairman and founder of the DOGE Caucus – praised Ernst's work and said taxpayers deserve to have a government operating at "full capacity."
"President Trump’s executive order requiring federal employees to return to work is the first step in improving government efficiency."
"This is just common sense, and the exact type of waste DOGE will continue to crack down on," Bean said.
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Ernst’s first DOGE "win" came with the passage of an otherwise Democrat-favored bill named for former President Joe Biden’s longtime friend Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., and signed as both Delawareans were departing public service.
Within the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act was a provision to compel the General Services Administration to sell the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building.
The block-long "stripped classicist" building southwest of the U.S. Capitol was designed by Philadelphia architect Charles Z. Klauder in the 1930s, and originally hosted the Social Security Administration.
However, its total occupancy dwindled to 2% – largely Voice of America workers – by 2025.
Another "DOGE" amendment sponsored by Ernst that requires agency oversight and reporting regarding telework was successfully added to a major appropriations bill passed in December.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment for purposes of this story but did not receive a response by press time.
ARLINGTON, Va. (WDCW/NEXSTAR) — A collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport near Washington, D.C, killed 67 people, including more than a dozen figure skaters.
President Donald Trump said at a briefing on Thursday that there were no survivors.
At least 28 bodies were pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River after the helicopter apparently flew into the path of the jet late Wednesday as it was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, officials said. The plane carried 60 passengers and four crew. Officials confirmed that the bodies of all three soldiers aboard the helicopter were recovered.
“We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation," said John Donnelly, the fire chief in the nation’s capital.
What we know about the DC plane crash victims
The plane was found upside-down in three sections in waist-deep water, and first responders were searching an area of the Potomac River as far south as the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, roughly 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) south of the airport, Donnelly said. The helicopter wreckage was also found.
Air crash investigations can take months, and federal investigators told reporters they would not speculate on the cause.
National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy declined to give specific details during a press briefing Thursday, citing an ongoing investigation.
"We do have information. We have data. We have substantial amounts of information. We need to verify information … that's best for you; that's important for the families," Homendy said.
NTSB officials added that the so-called "black box" recording devices in the airplane and the helicopter had not yet been recovered as of Thursday.
If no one survived, the collision would be the deadliest U.S. air crash since 2001.
There was no immediate word on the cause of the collision, but officials said flight conditions were clear as the jet arrived from Wichita, Kansas, with U.S. and Russian figure skaters and others aboard.
“On final approach into Reagan National, it collided with a military aircraft on an otherwise normal approach," American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said. "At this time, we don’t know why the military aircraft came into the path of the … aircraft.”
President Donald Trump opened a White House news conference after the crash with a moment of silence honoring the victims, calling it an “hour of anguish” for the country.
But he spent most of his time casting political blame, lashing out at the Biden administration and diversity efforts at the Federal Aviation Administration, saying they had led to slipping standards — even as he acknowledged that the cause of the crash was unknown.
Trump blames DEI for weakening FAA in aftermath of Reagan National plane crash
Without evidence, Trump blamed air traffic controllers, the helicopter pilots and Democratic policies at federal agencies. He claimed the FAA was “actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems, and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative."
One air traffic controller was responsible for coordinating helicopter traffic and arriving and departing planes when the collision happened, according to a report by the Federal Aviation Administration that was obtained by The Associated Press. Those duties are often divided between two people, but the airport typically combines the roles at 9:30 p.m, once traffic begins to slow down. On Wednesday the tower supervisor directed that they be combined earlier.
“The position configuration was not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” the report said. A person familiar with the matter, however, said the tower staffing that night was at a normal level.
The positions are regularly combined when controllers need to step away from the console for breaks, during shift changes or when air traffic is slow, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal procedures.
The Federal Aviation Administration has long struggled with a shortage of air traffic controllers.
Images from the river showed boats around the partly-submerged wing and the mangled wreckage of the plane's fuselage.
“We are absolutely heartbroken for the families of loved ones of the passengers and crew members and also for those who were on the military aircraft,” said Robert Isom, the CEO of American Airlines. “I express my sincere condolences.”
Inside Reagan National Airport, the mood was somber Thursday morning as stranded passengers waited for flights to resume, sidestepping camera crews and staring out the terminal’s windows at the Potomac, where recovery efforts were barely visible in the distance.
Search and rescue efforts are seen around a wreckage site in the Potomac River from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, early Thursday morning, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Investigators walk the grounds of the Reagan National Airport as they work near the crash last night of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River as it approached the Reagan National Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided in midair with a military helicopter while approaching Reagan National Airport. According to reports there were no survivors amongst the 67 people on board both aircraft. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Emergency response units search the wreckage of an American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after it crashed on approach to Reagan National Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided midair with a military Black Hawk helicopter while on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. According to reports, there were no survivors among the 67 people on both aircraft. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Emergency response units search the crash site of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after the plane crashed on approach to Reagan National Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided midair with a military Black Hawk helicopter while on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. According to reports, there were no survivors among the 67 people on both aircraft. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Part of the wreckage is seen as rescue boats search the waters of the Potomac River after a plane on approach to Reagan National Airport crashed into the river outside Washington, DC, January 30, 2025. A regional jet from Kansas crashed into Washington's Potomac River after colliding mid-air with a military helicopter near Reagan National Airport, officials said January 29, prompting a major emergency response and grounding all flights. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Emergency response units search the crash site of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after the plane crashed on approach to Reagan National Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided with a military helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan National Airport. Dozens of people are feared to have died in the midair collision. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Ken Schantz takes in the scene near where emergency response units search the crash site of an American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after an accident last night while on approach to Reagan National Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided midair with a military Black Hawk helicopter while on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. According to reports, there were no survivors among the 67 people on both aircraft. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Emergency response units search the crash site of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after the plane crashed on approach to Reagan National Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided with a military helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan National Airport. According to reports there were no survivors in the midair collision. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
A helicopter flies over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Search and rescue efforts are seen around a wreckage site in the Potomac River from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, early Thursday morning, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va., past the tail of a parked United Airlines jet. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Rescue boats search the waters of the Potomac River after a plane on approach to Reagan National Airport crashed into the river outside Washington, DC, January 30, 2025. A regional jet from Kansas crashed into Washington's Potomac River after colliding mid-air with a military helicopter near Reagan National Airport, officials said January 29, prompting a major emergency response and grounding all flights. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
A boat works the scene near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A helicopter uses a spotlight on the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Boats work the scene in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Aster Andemicael had been at the airport since Wednesday evening with her elderly father, who was flying to Indiana to visit family. She spent much of the long night thinking about the victims and their families.
“I’ve been crying since yesterday,” she said, her voice cracking. She recalled seeing a young woman frantically running through the airport around the time of the crash, possibly in search of a loved one who would never return.
“I pray for them,” she said. “This is devastating.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who was sworn in earlier this week, was asked if he could reassure Americans that the United States still has the safest airspace in the world.
“Can I guarantee the American flying public that the United States has the most safe and secure airspace in the world? And the answer to that is, absolutely yes, we do,” he said.
The night was clear, the plane and helicopter were both in standard flight patterns and there was standard communication between the aircraft and the tower, Duffy said.
“We have early indicators of what happened here,” Duffy said, though he declined to elaborate pending an investigation.
It is not unusual to have a military aircraft flying by the river and an aircraft landing at the airport, he said. Asked if the plane was aware that there was a helicopter in the area, Duffy said the helicopter was aware that there was a plane in the area.
Asked about Trump suggesting in an overnight social media post that the collision could have been prevented, Duffy said: “From what I’ve seen so far, do I think this was preventable? Absolutely.”
If everyone aboard the plane was killed, it would be the deadliest U.S. airline crash since Nov. 12, 2001, when an American Airlines flight crashed into a residential area of Belle Harbor, New York, just after takeoff from Kennedy Airport, killing all 260 people aboard.
The last major fatal crash involving a U.S. commercial airline occurred in 2009 near Buffalo, New York. Everyone aboard the Bombardier DHC-8 propeller plane was killed, including 45 passengers, two pilots and two flight attendants. Another person on the ground also died, bringing the total death toll to 50. An investigation determined that the captain accidentally caused the plane to stall as it approached the airport in Buffalo.
Passengers on Wednesday's flight included a group of figure skaters, their coaches and family members who were returning from a development camp that followed the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.
“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts,” U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement.
Two of those coaches were identified by the Kremlin as Russian figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the pairs title at the 1994 world championships and competed twice in the Olympics. The Skating Club of Boston lists them as coaches and their son, Maxim Naumov, is a competitive figure skater for the U.S.
Club CEO Doug Zeghibe described the group as highly talented, saying their loss would resonate through the skating community for years.
“Folks are just stunned by this,” Zeghibe said. “They are like family to us.”
The FAA said the midair crash occurred before 9 p.m. EST in some of the most tightly controlled and monitored airspace in the world, just over 3 miles south of the White House and the Capitol.
American Airlines Flight 5342 was inbound to Reagan National at an altitude of about 400 feet (122 meters) and a speed of about 140 mph (225 kph) when it rapidly lost altitude over the Potomac River, according to data from its radio transponder. The Canadian-made Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine jet, manufactured in 2004, can be configured to carry up to 70 passengers.
LISTEN: Audio captures air traffic control at moment of DC crash
A few minutes before landing, air traffic controllers asked the arriving commercial jet if it could land on the shorter Runway 33 at Reagan National, and the pilots said they were able. Controllers then cleared the plane to land on Runway 33. Flight-tracking sites showed the plane adjust its approach to the new runway.
Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter if it had the arriving plane in sight. The controller made another radio call to the helicopter moments later: “PAT 25, pass behind the CRJ.” Seconds after that, the two aircraft collided.
The plane’s transponder stopped transmitting about 2,400 feet (732 meters) short of the runway, roughly over the middle of the river.
Video from an observation camera at the nearby Kennedy Center showed two sets of lights consistent with aircraft appearing to join in a fireball.
The U.S. Army said the helicopter was a UH-60 Blackhawk based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. Military aircraft frequently conduct such training flights in and around the nation’s capital.
The moments that led up to the crash and its cause remain under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board and the United States Army.
Anyone looking for families and loved ones should call the helpline at 800-679-8215.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed two executive orders appointing a new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) deputy administrator and ordering an immediate assessment of aviation safety.
The orders came after an American Airlines plane carrying 64 people and an Army Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers crashed in midair at about 9 p.m. Wednesday.
The aircraft plummeted into the frigid Potomac River near Reagan National Airport, leaving 67 people presumed dead.
In the Oval Office Thursday, Trump signed an order appointing Chris Rocheleau acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
VICTIMS IDENTIFIED IN DC PLANE CRASH INVOLVING AMERICAN AIRLINES JET AND MILITARY HELICOPTER
Rocheleau most recently served as National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) CEO and held multiple leadership roles at the FAA during his more than 20-year tenure, including director of the office of emergency operations and investigations.
The NBAA wrote in a statement it "welcomed" the announcement.
"Chris is an outstanding leader who will be good for the FAA, good for aviation and good for the country, especially at this challenging time," said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. "He has demonstrated excellence at every level in the government, military and aviation industry."
DC PLANE CRASH TIMELINE: MIDAIR COLLISION INVOLVES 67 PASSENGERS, CREW MEMBERS, SOLDIERS
Trump called Rocheleau a "very capable guy" while signing the order.
A second executive order ordered an immediate assessment of aviation safety and an elevation of "competence" over diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
While signing the order, he said former presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama's DEI policies were "just crazy."
The memorandum says the Obama administration introduced a biographical questionnaire at the FAA to shift the hiring focus away from objective aptitude, and the Biden administration later encouraged the recruitment of people with "severe intellectual disabilities."
"During my first term, my Administration raised standards to achieve the highest standards of safety and excellence," Trump wrote in the memo. "The Biden Administration egregiously rejected merit-based hiring, requiring all executive departments and agencies to implement dangerous ‘diversity equity and inclusion’ tactics, and specifically recruiting individuals with ‘severe intellectual’ disabilities in the FAA."
While Trump ordered an immediate return to merit-based recruitment, hiring and promotion on his second day in office, he noted the recent plane crash "underscores the need to elevate safety and competence as the priority of the FAA."
Trump said Thursday the collision was a "confluence of bad decisions that were made, and you have people that lost their lives, violently lost their lives."
When asked about the roles those with "severe intellectual disabilities" were hired to fill, the FAA told Fox News Digital it would not comment.
Fox News Digital's Louis Casiano contributed to this story.
The Washington Wizards held a moment of silence Thursday for the victims of the deadly crash involving a passenger jet and an Army helicopter near Reagan National Airport.
The Wizards hosted the Los Angeles Lakers at the Capital One Arena, and it was the first sporting event in D.C. since Wednesday night's crash.
The Wizards had a message on their jumbotron before the game began.
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"We are deeply saddened by the tragedy near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport last night," the statement said. "We extend our thoughts and prayers to those families, loved ones, and all those impacted.
LIVE UPDATES: MILITARY HELICOPTER COLLIDES WITH AIRCRAFT NEAR REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT
"And we thank all the first responders for their heroic efforts across this massive coordinated effort."
An American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter, which was carrying three soldiers. All airline passengers and soldiers were presumed dead.
At least 14 members of the figure skating community were on board the plane. Six people with ties to the Skating Club of Boston were among them.
The Washington Commanders and Washington Nationals also paid tribute to those who lost their lives and showed their support for the first responders who sprang into action to find any potential survivors and recover bodies from the Potomac River.
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An aviation attorney predicts families of the midair collision victims will be filing lawsuits against both the U.S. government and American Airlines in the coming days.
No survivors are expected after an Army Black Hawk helicopter on a training mission collided with an American Airlines regional jet carrying 64 people as the jet was preparing to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday evening. Three soldiers were aboard the Black Hawk.
"Typically, right after — obviously, the families are dealing with a lot of shock and grief right now — a lot of times it’s really hard for people to wrap their minds around aircraft accidents because they’re just not supposed to happen," James Brauchle told Fox News Digital on Thursday, adding that air travel is "extremely safe."
"We haven’t had a commercial accident in the U.S. involving a U.S. carrier since 2009."
DC PLANE CRASH TIMELINE: MIDAIR COLLISION INVOLVES 67 PASSENGERS, CREW MEMBERS, SOLDIERS
Buffalo-bound Colgan Air Flight 3407 killed all 49 people on board on Feb. 12, 2009, after the plane stalled and crashed into a home, killing a person inside.
Brauchle said the families’ main question as they struggle with their grief is "why did this happen? How did this happen? How could it have happened? And they really are seeking answers."
He added that once they get through their "initial shock, that’s usually the next step is seeking the answers and wanting to know why this happened."
Brauchle said he doesn’t think there’s ever been a commercial aircraft crash in the U.S. that didn’t result in litigation.
"So, I'm going to assume that that's going to happen," Brauchle said. "And that's usually done, obviously, through the filing of a lawsuit."
Based on his professional experience, he said, the airline and the government are both likely to be sued.
Brauchle said the government’s accountability could be twofold.
"One for obviously operating the helicopter, because it was being flown by the Army, but also air traffic control that’s regulating and monitoring that airspace is FAA, which is again a government agency," he said.
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Brauchle cautioned that it is early in the investigation.
An internal preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reportedly showed that the number of staff members working at the air control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, was "not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic."
On Wednesday night, an American Airlines plane and an Army helicopter collided near Reagan National Airport outside of Washington, D.C., and all 67 people onboard both aircraft are presumed to be dead.
The Associated Press obtained a report which showed one air traffic controller was working two positions at the time of the crash.
Typically, the two assignments are split between two air traffic controllers.
FAA PANEL WARNS THAT CURRENT SAFETY LEVELS ARE ‘UNSUNSTAINABLE’
"The position configuration was not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic," the report says.
The FAA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions and request for comment on the matter.
Despite the report saying the staffing was "not normal," a person familiar with the matter told the AP that staffing in the control tower at DCA on Wednesday night was at a normal level.
The person explained that the positions get combined regularly if air controllers have to step away from the console for breaks, or if they are involved in a shift change. Controllers may also have to step away when air traffic is slow, the person explained, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal procedures.
The air control tower at Reagan National has been understaffed for years with 19 fully certified controllers as of September 2023. However, staffing targets set by the FAA and the controllers’ union call for 30.
FAA INVESTS $121M FOR AIRPORT MODIFICATIONS TO REDUCE RISK OF RUNWAY INCURSIONS
The FAA’s air traffic controller shortage is nothing new at Reagan National or most of the country’s air traffic control facilities.
Last year, Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle appeared on FOX Business Network’s "The Claman Countdown" and warned that shortages could cause issues during the summer season if they were not addressed.
Biffle explained that while technology could help address the issue while promoting greater efficiencies in air travel over the longer term, the air traffic controller shortage contributes to delays and cancelations.
FAA HEAD STRESSES NEED FOR AVIATION INDUSTRY TO END CLOSE CALLS, RENEWS SAFETY PUSH
"There's opportunities to improve the technology that is kind of the backbone of air traffic control," Biffle said. "If you look to Europe, for example, there are some opportunities that we could adopt here that would be much more efficient — you'd burn a lot less fuel, get there faster and so forth. That is a big opportunity."
"At the same time, it doesn't negate the issue that I think we're 3,000 controllers short right now. And so that just causes, when you have a weather event, it just causes there to be more delays," he explained. "And ultimately, like we've seen the last few days, those delays then turn into cancelations because crews time out and so forth. [I] would really like to see the staffing get fixed. The technology is probably a longer solution."
The FAA's National Airspace System (NAS) safety review team created in April 2023 following several close runway incursions during takeoffs or landings at busy airports, determined that year that the concurrence of several challenges such as the air traffic control staffing crunch, insufficient funding and outdated technology "results in an erosion of safety margins that must be urgently addressed."
"The current erosion in the margin of safety in the NAS caused by the confluence of these challenges is rendering the current level of safety unsustainable," the team's report said.
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The cause of the shortage has been attributed to employee turnover and other factors like tight budgets, and ultimately, it has resulted in many controllers working 10-hour days and as many as six days a week, the New York Times reported.
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
Nancy Kerrigan spoke at an emotional news conference on Thursday after six people with ties to the skating club where she competed died in an airline tragedy near Reagan International Airport near Washington, D.C.
Kerrigan is one of the decorated members of the Skating Club of Boston, along with Dick Button, Tenley Albright and Paul Wylie.
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The Olympic silver medalist battled through tears as she spoke to reporters. Albright stood beside Kerrigan.
"Much like everyone here has been saying, I’m not sure how to process it," she said, adding that her husband, who is her agent, kept getting calls to do interviews. "I didn’t feel like it was right to be home and do interviews for this. . . . We just wanted to be here and be a part of our community."
The Skating Club of Boston identified Jinna Han and Spencer Lane as the two athletes who were killed in the crash. Their mothers and two coaches were also identified as victims.
"I’ve never seen anyone love skating as much as these two, and that’s why I think it hurts so much. . . . Anytime I’ve been able to be here and watch them grow, the kids here really work hard. Their parents work hard to be here, but I feel for the athletes, their skaters, their families, anyone who was on that plane, not just the skaters, because it’s just such a tragic event.
LIVE UPDATES: MILITARY HELICOPTER COLLIDES WITH AIRCRAFT NEAR REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT
"We’ve been through tragedies before as Americans as people, and we are strong, and I guess it’s how we respond to it, and my response is to be with the people who I care about because I needed support. So, that’s why I’m here."
Kerrigan hoped the families would find the courage and the strength to take the next steps.
The Skating Club of Boston CEO Doug Zeghibe added that Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, and Jin Han, the mother of Jinna, and Molly Lane, the mother of Spencer, had been identified as the other victims. He announced it in a statement earlier in the day.
"Our sport and this Club have suffered a horrible loss with this tragedy," Zeghibe said in a statement posted to social media. "Skating is a tight-knit community where parents and kids come together six of seven days a week to train and work together. Everyone is like family. Of the skaters, coaches and parents on the plane, we believe six were from The Skating Club of Boston. We are devastated and completely at a loss for words.
"These athletes, coaches, parents were returning from U.S. Figure Skating’s National Development Camp, following last week’s U.S. Championships in Wichita. This camp is for young competitive skaters of tomorrow with the promise to be a champion of tomorrow. The club sent 18 athletes to compete at the U.S. Championships. It sent 12 athletes to the National Development Camp."
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U.S. ice skater Anton Spiridonov refuted claims suggesting he was on board the commercial jet that collided in midair with an Army helicopter Wednesday night near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
"Russian news outlets have included me on a list of presumed people on the flight from Wichita to Washington D.C.," the skater shared on Instagram.
"I was NOT on this flight, thank you for everyone’s concern for my safety. My heart goes out to all the families affected by this tragedy."
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Spiridonov won the silver medal at the World University Games in 2023. He also finished sixth at the U.S. Championships that same year. Spiridonov also paid tribute to his father's former "skating partner," Inna Volyanskaya.
"Dads skating partner," he wrote on a post to his Instagram story. "Rest in peace, Inna."
Flight 5342 carried 60 passengers and four crew members, according to a statement from American Airlines. The flight took off from an airport in Wichita, Kansas.
Authorities confirmed there were three U.S. service members aboard the Army Black Hawk helicopter when the aircraft departed Davison Army Airfield at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. The airfield is located about 15 miles southwest of Reagan Washington National.
The passenger jet and the military helicopter both crashed into the Potomac River as the commercial plane was approaching one of the airport runways. In a news conference Thursday morning, officials confirmed that 27 bodies from the plane and one from the Black Hawk helicopter had been pulled from the frigid waters.
U.S. Figure Skating released a statement confirming that "several members of our skating community" were aboard the flight. The organization said they were returning home from a development camp after the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas, which concluded Sunday.
Fox News' Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.
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Members of the figure skating community are presumed to have been killed in the plane crash near Reagan International Airport late Wednesday night.
The crash came hours ahead of the European Figure Skating Championships, which honored the victims in a moment of silence before skaters took the ice.
The legendary broadcast duo of Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir were on the call, and before the skating occurred, they both offered emotional tributes.
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"As we come on the air for the European Figure Skating Championships, we are all hurting today. We were absolutely heartbroken at the news that several members of our skating community were among those lost in the tragic plane crash in Washington, D.C., last night," Weir began.
Weir then read off portions of sentimental statements from U.S. Figure Skating and the International Skating Union.
After a moment of silence, presumably to hold back tears, Lipinski offered her condolences.
"It is unimaginable loss. My heart is completely broken for our skating community, their families and loved ones. My heart is with all of the families affected, and that’s the part I have no words for. It will not do it justice. It is so widespread throughout our skating community. We are such a close-knit family, and I know our skating community will never be the same. But we will always remember them," Lipinski said.
Weir added, "Our job is to make sure that everyone’s spirit lives on. It’s a tremendous loss that our community feels, and the sorrow that we feel for our tightknit community and the pain that we feel for our friends and colleagues is unimaginable today. My whole heart is with everybody affected by this terrible tragedy – we are so devastated for your loss."
First responders switched to recovery efforts in the Potomac River after it was believed that there were no survivors. There were 60 passengers and four crew members aboard the American Airlines flight and three soldiers aboard the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.
Two former Olympians, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, were also believed to be among the victims of the plane crash, the Kremlin confirmed.
Fox News' Paulina Dedaj and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Family and friends of those who lost their lives in the deadly American Airlines and Army helicopter collision are sharing tributes online as they wait for more answers about how this tragedy happened.
The midair crash occurred around 9 p.m. Wednesday, when an Army helicopter and an American Airlines plane collided near Reagan National Airport outside of Washington, D.C. All 67 people onboard both aircraft are presumed dead.
Tim Lilley identified his son, 28-year-old Sam Lilley, as first officer on American Airlines flight 5342.
"I was so proud when Sam became a pilot. Now it hurts so bad I can’t even cry myself to sleep. I know I’ll see him again, but my heart is breaking," Tim Lilley wrote in a Facebook post. "Sam was the First Officer on the flight that crashed in DC last night. He was doing great in his career and his personal life. He was engaged to get married in the fall."
"It is so devastating to lose someone that is loved so much," he added.
Scott Hubbard Jr., a friend and former colleague of Sam Lilley, wrote on Facebook: "I had the honor to help welcome him to one of his first flying jobs at SkyLens as the outgoing chief pilot due to starting my career at the airline. He was a phenomenal pilot. I never got to fly with him at the airlines as I changed companies but I was so proud to know him and consider him friend. My heart is heavy for his family and fiancé."
"You left an everlasting impact on us all and we are grateful for you," he added. "Blue Skies brother. And my condolences are with all the other crew members, the passengers, and military service members in the helicopter. This is a sad day."
A flight attendant on board the flight has been identified as Ian Epstein.
"It is with a very heavy heart and extreme sadness that myself along with our children Hannah Epstein and Joanna Epstein and his sister Robbie Epstein Bloom and her husband Steven Bloom and nieces Andi and Dani inform you that Ian Epstein was one of the flight attendants on American Airlines Flight 5342 that collided last night when they were landing in DC," Debi Epstein, Ian's wife, wrote in a Facebook post. "Please pray for Ian and our family as we travel to DC. We will update when plans are made."
Fox News Digital was told that Epstein, who grew up in Montreal, Quebec, had also recently become a flight attendant a few years ago, and loved traveling and his job.
"Ian Epstein was full of life. He loved being a flight attendant because he truly enjoyed traveling and meeting new people. But his true love was his family. He was a father, a stepfather, a husband and a brother! He will be truly missed," Epstein's family said in a statement sent to Fox News.
DC PLANE CRASH TIMELINE: MIDAIR COLLISION INVOLVES 67 PASSENGERS, CREW MEMBERS, SOLDIERS
American Airlines has not yet confirmed the identities of Lilley or Epstein.
6 WITH TIES TO BOSTON FIGURE SKATING CLUB KILLED IN MIDAIR COLLISION, OFFICIAL SAYS
D.C. fire and EMS chief John A. Donnelly said during a news conference Thursday that he’s confident all of the bodies from the crash will be recovered.
"I’m confident that we will do that," he told reporters. "It will take us a little bit of time. It may involve some more equipment."
TRUMP SAYS REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT CRASH COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED: 'CLEAR NIGHT'
Fox News Digital has learned the identity of another victim on board flight 5342, a mother of two young children, Wendy Shaffer.
"I'm still waiting to wake up from this nightmare, but I fear this is the truth. Wendy was not just beautiful on the outside, but was a truly amazing woman through and through," Wendy's husband, Nate Shaffer, shared in a statement with Fox News Digital.
"She was the best wife, mother, and friend that anyone could ever hope for. Her love, kindness, and strength touched everyone she met. We will miss you more than words can express, Wendy Jo. I love you endlessly! Rest in peace, my love."
Loudoun County Public Schools in Virginia announced that multiple victims were former students in the school system.
"Our hearts are heavy as we process the devastating news of last night’s tragic plane crash over the Potomac River involving an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter. This unimaginable loss has deeply affected our community, and with great sorrow, we have learned that multiple victims were former LCPS students," the school district said in a release Thursday. "Many other Loudoun families have also been impacted, and we extend our deepest condolences to all those grieving in the wake of this tragedy."
Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia said in a statement on its website that three students and six parents in the district were killed in the crash. Two of those parents were current or former FCPS staff members.
Doug Zeghibe, the CEO of the Skating Club of Boston, said Thursday that six of its members died in the collision last night.
Zeghibe said 14 skaters were returning home from a national development camp in Wichita, Kansas and six of them were members of his organization.
"Our sport and this club have suffered a horrible loss with this tragedy," Zeghibe said. "Skating is a tight-knit community where parents and kids come together six or seven days a week to train and work together. Everyone is like family. We are devastated and completely at a loss for words."
Zeghibe identified skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane as two of the victims in the crash. Their mothers were also onboard, the Associated Press reported. Lane later posted a photo on his Instagram story with a view from inside the plane before it departed from Wichita.
"Six is a horrific number for us, but we're fortunate and grateful it wasn't more than six," Zeghibe said. "This will have long-reaching impacts for our skating community.
Two of the members were coaches who were former world pair champions and two were teenagers. Mothers of the athletes died as well, he added.
The Kremlin said Thursday that Russian figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who competed in multiple Olympic Games and medaled in multiple world championships, were among those aboard the American Airlines flight.
Fowl Plains hunting club in Great Bend, Kansas, wrote on Facebook that seven clients died in the crash.
"We’ve always said our clients are more than friends," the group wrote. "They’re family. Last night we lost 7 family members in the horrific plane crash. 7 family members we’ve had the privilege to hunt with the last few years."
The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada (UA) shared on X that five of its members died in the crash.
"We are heartbroken to confirm the loss of a fifth UA Brother onboard American Airlines Flight 5342 last night. May they all rest in peace," the organization wrote in a post on X.
This is a developing story.
Fox News' Greg Norman, Bill Melugin, and Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.
EXCLUSIVE: The top Republican on the House Transportation Committee’s subcommittee on aviation is calling for a congressional hearing into the deadly collision between an American Airlines plane and a military helicopter in Washington, D.C.
"We say we are the gold standard, we just need to continue to maintain that level," Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, who chairs the subcommittee, told Fox News Digital in an interview.
"I just want to sit down with all of them and, when the [National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)] does its report – make sure that it’s very accurate, it’s factual, and that they come up with some recommendations – and then we’ll have to see if we need to change direction or change course based upon those recommendations. But we don’t know yet."
Nehls praised Transportation Committee Chairman Sam Graves, noting his background as a pilot, and said he would be asking the Missouri Republican to convene meetings with the affected parties and those investigating the incident. Nehls suggested potential closed-door meetings to enable more candid discussions but said a public hearing would also be in order.
DC PLANE CRASH INVESTIGATORS TO REVIEW COMMUNICATION BETWEEN 2 AIRCRAFT: SENATOR
"We have to find out the reason for the crash and then come up with, you know, recommendations to make sure it doesn’t happen again," he said. "We don’t need to be sitting on this. I don’t want to hear, ‘It’s going to take 18 months.’ I don’t want to hear that."
And it appears federal investigators are on that same page.
NTSB officials said they hope to have a preliminary report out in about 30 days.
"I think that would be fair," Nehls said. "But that shouldn't stop Congress looking into this and doing what we can to help. I think President Trump… expects it, and he has a right to expect it from us, to make sure that we keep our aviation industry the standard for the world."
And while he is hoping for quick results, Nehls emphatically cautioned against any early speculation about who or what is to blame for the tragedy.
RECOVERY EFFORTS UNDERWAY AFTER AMERICAN AIRLINES JET, MILITARY HELICOPTER COLLIDE MIDAIR NEAR DC
"Everybody wants to speculate as to how did this happen, why this happened. Whose fault is that? Is it the helicopter? Was it the airplane?" Nehls said.
"I think that is irresponsible. I think you just need to give it time for the NTSB to investigate, you know, conduct a very thorough investigation."
Finger-pointing and speculation have already run rampant, however. Some have blamed Congress for authorizing too many new airline contracts at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which is closer to the U.S. Capitol than the much larger Washington-Dulles International Airport.
Others, primarily on the right, have argued that diversity initiatives by Democratic administrations helped lead to the tragedy.
"I think it’s too early for all of that," Nehls said when asked about both.
No evidence has come out to support any conclusion or cause of the crash so far.
Nehls spoke with Fox News Digital the day after a Black Hawk helicopter carrying three service members crashed into a passenger plane heading from Wichita, Kansas, which was moments away from landing at Reagan National Airport.
Both aircraft were seen plummeting into the Potomac River between Washington and neighboring Arlington, Virginia, where the airport is located.
U.S. officials have said there are no survivors, and recovery efforts are still underway.
Fox News Digital reached out to the House Transportation Committee for comment.
American Airlines has said 60 passengers and four crew members were aboard the plane, and the airline encouraged any loved ones looking for information to call the numbers on its site.
Kansas’ entire congressional delegation is vowing to find answers for the families grieving loved ones after the deadly crash of a flight from Wichita to Washington D.C., which officials have said left no survivors.
A Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines PSA commercial jet that was moments from landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport Wednesday night, temporarily halting all flights in and out of the small but critically located airport.
"Our prayers are with the families and friends of those affected by the tragic plane crash that occurred in our nation’s capital. South Central Kansas is a close community, and it's likely that many of us directly or indirectly know people who were on Flight 5342 on Jan. 29," the lawmakers’ joint written statement said.
VIDEO SHOWS DC PLANE CRASH INVOLVING AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT, BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER
"This is a sad day for Kansans and our nation, and this community, steeped in aviation and manufacturing history, will feel the pain of this catastrophe for years to come. We are grateful for the first responders and rescue crews who worked through the night.
"Our focus now is supporting the family and friends of those who perished, including the crew and military personnel, and then getting answers for the grieving individuals who have lost a loved one and making sure this doesn't happen again."
It was signed by GOP Kansas senators Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran, as well as Republican House representatives Ron Estes, Tracey Mann, Derek Schmidt and the delegation’s lone Democrat, Sharice Davids.
Estes represents much of Wichita, where the flight originated.
Moran said in a press conference shortly after midnight Thursday he was familiar with the flight route, having lobbied American Airlines for it to begin last year.
President Donald Trump briefed reporters on the crisis earlier Thursday, saying there were no survivors from the crash.
Members of Trump’s new Cabinet, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, both promised to find swift answers for the families grieving loved ones after the crash.
Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., who represents Arlington County, where the airport is located, similarly said he would work toward accountability.
"As the local representative, I want the families to know that our office is available to serve you in any way that we possibly can in this time of grief and transition and loss," Beyer said at another press conference Thursday morning.
AMERICAN AIRLINES CEO EXPRESSES 'DEEP SORROW' AFTER MIDAIR COLLISION
"And then, also, I’d just note that we are deeply grateful for the people who risked their lives last night on a moment’s notice and spent the whole night on the river in the ice and the wind, serving us."
Beyer added that, through the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) probe into the crash, "we’ve got to make sure that, at the federal level and with the support of Virginia, Maryland, and D.C., we’re doing everything we can to make sure that this does not happen again."
American Airlines has said 60 passengers and four crew members were aboard the plane, and the airline encouraged any loved ones looking for information to call the numbers on its site.
U.S. officials are investigating why the Black Hawk helicopter flew into the path of the descending plane, Duffy told reporters.
"I would say the helicopter was aware there was a plane in the area," he said.
Hegseth said the helicopter was manned by an experienced crew and was undergoing an "annual proficiency training flight."
Duffy told reporters that while the collision was a highly unusual and tragic event, the two aircraft's mutual patterns were not atypical.
Army secretary nominee Daniel Driscoll questioned whether Army helicopters should be flying training missions in one of the nation’s most congested flight paths after Wednesday's tragic Washington, D.C.-area collision.
"It’s an accident that seems to be preventable," Driscoll, an Army veteran, said during a Thursday confirmation hearing at the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"There are appropriate times to take risk and inappropriate times to take risk," he said. "I think we need to look at where is an appropriate time to take training risk, and it may not be at an airport like Reagan."
Sixty-four people were aboard the American Airlines flight inbound from Wichita, Kan., which collided with an Army Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter just before it was set to touch down at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. Authorities do not believe anyone survived.
BLACK HAWK CHOPPER UNIT WAS ON ANNUAL PROFICIENCY TRAINING FLIGHT, HEGSETH SAYS
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed the three soldiers who were aboard the chopper were a "fairly experienced crew" doing a "required annual night evaluation."
"We anticipate that the investigation will quickly be able to determine whether the aircraft was in the quarter at the right altitude at the time of the incident," he said.
In a blunt Truth Social post, President Donald Trump called the crash "a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented."
AMERICAN FIGURE SKATER SAYS HE WAS BARRED FROM FLIGHT THAT COLLIDED WITH ARMY HELICOPTER
"The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time," Trump wrote. "It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane."
Ronald Reagan Washington National, an airport owned by the federal government, has been the subject of debate for years. It has one of the shortest runways in the industry, yet Congress approved additional flight slots in 2024 as part of its Federal Aviation Administration bill. The flight from Wichita, Kan., had just been added in 2024.
The airport faces complicated aviation logistics near hyperprotected airspace near the Pentagon, White House and Capitol, but lawmakers have pushed to keep it open due to the convenience of its proximity to D.C.
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"We’re gonna have to work together to make sure that never happens again," Driscoll said in his Thursday confirmation hearing, promising to take a hard look at what training was needed, particularly amid the Army's increased use of its vertical lift aircraft.
Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked a helicopter if it had the arriving plane in sight, according to air traffic control audio. The controller made another radio call to the helicopter moments later, saying "PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ" — apparently telling the chopper to wait for the Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine jet to pass. There was no reply, according to the audio. Seconds after that, the aircraft collided.
Military helicopters regularly cross over the D.C.-area airport's flight paths to ferry senior government officials over the Potomac River into D.C. No senior officials were on board the downed Black Hawk, according to the Army.
Fox News' Chad Pergram and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Video footage shows first responders saluting the flag-draped remains of a victim who was killed during the tragic plane crash near Washington, DC, on Wednesday evening.
The post VIDEO: First Responders Honor and Salute U.S. Flag Draped Remains of D.C. Plane Crash Victim appeared first on Breitbart.
Bakari Sellers, a top CNN commentator, on Wednesday apologized and deleted a post blaming President Donald Trump for the horrific plane crash in Washington, DC.
The post CNN Commentator Apologizes, Deletes Post Blaming Trump for D.C. Plane Crash appeared first on Breitbart.
ARLINGTON, Va. — A jet with 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an Army helicopter Wednesday while approaching the Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington. The aircraft plummeted into the Potomac River. Everyone onboard was feared dead, officials said Thursday.
The post 28 Bodies Now Recovered from Washington D.C. Plane Crash Site appeared first on Breitbart.
President Donald Trump issued some of his thoughts in response to the plane crash at Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington, DC, on Wednesday night, calling it a "terrible night."
The post Trump After Plane Crash: ‘What a Terrible Night … God Bless You All’ appeared first on Breitbart.
An estimated 67 people are presumed dead after a Black Hawk helicopter collided with a commercial American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday evening.
A total of 64 people, including four staff members, were aboard passenger American Airlines Flight 5342, and three soldiers were on the Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk that came from Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
AMERICAN AIRLINES PLANE, ARMY HELICOPTER COLLIDE OUTSIDE REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT NEAR WASHINGTON DC
Here is a timeline of events leading up to and immediately after the Wednesday night crash:
AA Flight 5342 departs Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (ITC) for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) at 5:18 p.m. CST, or 6:18 p.m. EST, according to air traffic control records from FlightRadar24.
An Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter departs Fort Belvoir as part of a training exercise. An senior Army official told Fox News the soldiers were part of a "fairly experienced" Black Hawk crew, and they had night vision goggles aboard the helicopter.
Flight 5342 began to descend into DCA from the south.
Air traffic controllers ask Flight 5342 to land on Runway 33, and pilots acknowledge the order.
ATC AUDIO:
An air traffic control official asks the Black Hawk (PAT-25) pilot whether he can see the commercial aircraft.
"Do you have the CRJ in sight?" the controller asks, and the helicopter pilot confirms he sees the passenger plane and requests "visual separation," meaning he is trying to get out of the flight's path, according to FlightRadar24 audio.
"PAT-25, do you have the CRJ in sight?" the controller can be heard saying to the helicopter pilot 30 seconds before the crash.
The controller makes another radio call to PAT-25 moments later: "PAT-25, pass behind the CRJ."
ATC AUDIO REVEALS MOMENT CONTROLLERS SAW DISASTER:
Army UH-60 and Flight 5342 then collide over the Potomac River, causing an explosion midair at an altitude of about 300 feet that was caught on camera.
Air traffic controllers can be heard reacting, and asking, "Did you see that?"
The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) receives phone calls reporting a plane crash over the Potomac.
MPD, D.C. Fire and EMS, and "multiple partner agencies" begin coordinating a search and rescue operation.
DCA closes due to an "aircraft emergency."
The DC Fire and EMS Department posts an update on X stating, "Confirmed small aircraft down in Potomac River vicinity Reagan National Airport. Fireboats on scene."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posts a statement from President Donald Trump to X.
"I have been fully briefed on the terrible accident which just took place at Reagan National Airport. May God Bless their souls. Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders. I am monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise," the statement reads.
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser holds a press conference with other law enforcement personnel and announces that a passenger aircraft collided with a military aircraft.
DC Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly announces that officials "have recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter."
"Despite all these efforts, we are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation," Donnelly says.
Officials hold a press conference in Washington, D.C., saying all 67 passengers, crew members and soldiers on board both aircraft are presumed dead.
"We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation," Donnelly says during the briefing. "We don’t believe there are any survivors."
Flights resume landing at DCA; the first aircraft lands at the airport at 11:02 a.m.
A Department of Homeland Security source told Fox News Digital on Thursday morning that there are "no terror concerns" after the collision, and officials suspect the crash was "just a tragedy."
Prior to the deadly collision, there had been a military aircraft-involved crash in Alaska on Tuesday. Officials said a U.S. Air Force F-35 fighter jet crashed in Alaska after the pilot managed to safely eject from the aircraft.
There have been at least 238 deaths and 227 injuries stemming from non-combat U.S. military aircraft crashes since 2012, according to the FAA.
There have also been multiple "close call" incidents at DCA since 2023.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The fatal collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. Army helicopter at Reagan International Airport on Wednesday night was likely a culmination of factors, according to aviation attorney Jim Brauchle, who says "we’ve been lucky" there haven’t been more air accidents.
Brauchle is a former U.S. Air Force navigator who now represents families of victims involved in aviation disasters, including the 2019 Boeing 737 Max 8 crash that killed 157 persons in Ethiopia shortly after takeoff and a 2014 Army Black Hawk helicopter crash that killed a soldier and seriously injured two others on board during a training flight at Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia.
"I hate to say this, but a lot of people in the aviation industry have predicted that there was going to be an accident," Brauchle told Fox News Digital. "No one wants to, you know, say that out loud because obviously that's a horrific thing. But there's been a lot of near misses over the last several years. And we've been, you know, we've been lucky that there haven't been more of these."
The collision happened around 9 p.m. EST when a PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet collided in midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on approach to Runway 33 at Reagan National Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said. The regional jet had departed from Wichita, Kansas.
VIDEO SHOWS DC PLANE CRASH INVOLVING AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT, BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER
American Airlines said the jet was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, while the military said three soldiers were onboard the Army helicopter. Officials said later Thursday morning that no one is expected to have survived after a massive search-and-rescue operation in the frigid waters of the Potomac River in Arlington, Virginia.
Brauchle said there are several ways aircraft avoid midair collisions, especially at the busy Reagan National Airport, including transponders and traffic collision avoidance systems that most commercial aircraft are equipped with, communication with air traffic control and what he called "seeing and avoid," in which pilots keep a lookout for other aircraft and obstacles.
Brauchle said that keeping a lookout for obstacles is harder than it looks.
"Having flown at night, having tried to look and see traffic, I think most people would say, ‘Oh, how hard is it to miss an airliner,’ right? You should be able to see that. But it's a lot more difficult than people would expect," he said.
At night in an urban environment like Washington, D.C., or northern Virginia, pilots may not be able to see other aircraft and instead may rely on seeing anti-collision or landing lights, according to Brauchle. But different ambient lights from tall buildings and towers that are lit may make it difficult to distinguish which lights belong to other aircraft.
"What I've heard from the audio is that they called out to [air traffic control]. The helicopter said that he had the aircraft in sight," the attorney said. "My guess is, and again, I'm just speculating, is they saw something that they thought was the airplane, whether it be a tower light, maybe it was another aircraft that was taking off. Whatever they thought they saw obviously wasn't the aircraft."
DC PLANE CRASH INVESTIGATORS TO REVIEW COMMUNICATION BETWEEN 2 AIRCRAFT: SENATOR
Brauchle said that typically, if two aircraft find themselves on the same path, the more maneuverable aircraft is supposed to try to move out of the slower aircraft’s way.
"In this case, it's kind of a really unique situation," he said. "Both of these aircraft appear to be where they were supposed to be, or at least on the route. Maybe not necessarily the altitude."
Citing the published routes for the two aircraft, Brauchle said that even if both aircraft are exactly where they’re supposed to be, there is only a couple of hundred feet of separation.
"If you have any type of, you know altimeter error or a pilot just slightly off altitude, you very easily are putting airplanes in the same airspace," the attorney said.
Reagan National Airport facilitates commercial, private and military traffic all in a relatively condensed airspace.
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"You’re combining all these different aircraft, all different types of aircraft, all in a very confined space," he said, noting the swath of restricted airspace in the D.C. area due to national security concerns. "And that's kind of what's unique, I think, about Reagan is that it is so congested in such a confined space."
The cause of the collision remains unknown in the hours after the accident. Hundreds of first responders conducted a massive search-and-rescue operation for survivors, though the operation turned into a recovery later Thursday morning.
Brauchle said that, based on his experiences litigating and investigating such accidents with the Charleston, South Carolina-based Motley Rice law firm, the families of those who died are likely in shock because airplane accidents are "not supposed to happen."
"What I've also seen from the families is they're always looking for answers," he said. "They want to know why this happened. Why did they lose their loved one?"
Brauchle said the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will likely release a preliminary report in 30 days, and thinks that families will eventually seek litigation as a result of this accident.
The NTSB is leading the investigation into the midair collision, with investigators from the FAA assisting.
President Donald Trump set his sights on DEI standards at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Thursday after a deadly in-air collision at the nation's capital.
Trump, speaking to reporters in the White House briefing room, highlighted efforts by the Biden administration to lower aviation standards, though he acknowledged that the cause of Wednesday night's crash has yet to be determined.
"We must have only the highest standards for those who work in our aviation system," Trump said. "Only the highest aptitude — you have to be the highest intellect — and psychologically superior people, were allowed to qualify for air traffic controllers."
"We have to have our smartest people. It doesn't matter what they look like, how they speak, who they are. What matters is intellect, talent. The word 'talent.' They have to be talented geniuses," he continued. "We can't have regular people doing that job. They won't be able to do it."
Trump later attributed the crash to a "confluence of bad decisions that were made."
VIDEO SHOWS DC PLANE CRASH INVOLVING AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT, BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER
Trump noted that he had raised the qualification standards for air traffic controllers during his first administration, but he said former President Joe Biden had lowered them once he left office.
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The president reinstated the higher standards last week with an executive order, he said.
"We do not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas, and I think we'll probably state those opinions now, because over the years I've watched as things like this happen and they say, well, we're always investigating. And then the investigation, three years later, they announce it," Trump said, going on to detail an investigation including the FAA, the Department of Defense and the National Transportation Safety Board.
Trump went on to highlight a series of articles covering the FAA's "diversity push" that he said occurred prior to him taking office.
"The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems, and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency's website," he said.
While that language was present on the FAA's website during the Biden administration, it was also present during Trump's first administration.
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When asked for comment on the initiative last year, including what roles people with disabilities would fulfill, the FAA told Fox News Digital that the agency thoroughly seeks and vets qualified candidates "from as many sources as possible" for a range of positions.
Later in the press conference, Trump criticized former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as a "disaster."
"He's just got a good line of bulls--t," the president said of the Democrat.
Reporters then pressed Trump on the facts of the crash, asking whether he had evidence that it was caused by incompetence due to DEI. Trump said the investigation is ongoing, but that "it could have been."
Buttigieg was quick to strike back on X, calling Trump's comments "despicable."
"As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying," Buttigieg continued. "We put safety first, drove down close calls, grew Air Traffic Control, and had zero commercial airline crash fatalities out of millions of flights on our watch."
Wednesday night's crash involved an American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members. It collided with a military Blackhawk helicopter carrying three service members. Trump confirmed that there were no survivors.
Fox News' Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III, who famously landed a passenger plane on the Hudson River in 2009, commented on the deadly aircraft collision that occurred over the Potomac River on Wednesday night.
"We’ve had to learn important lessons literally with blood too often, and we had finally gotten beyond that, to where we could learn from incidents, and not accidents," Captain Sullenberger told The New York Times.
Sullenberger explained to the outlet that "everything is harder" when flying at night. He noted that while the pilots’ ability to see may have been impacted by the darkness, "we don’t know" whether that was the case.
"I’m just devastated by this," Sullenberger said. "We have the obligation to learn from every failure and improve."
AMERICAN AIRLINES CEO EXPRESSES 'DEEP SORROW' AFTER MIDAIR COLLISION
At approximately 9:00 PM local time on Wednesday night, an Army Black Hawk collided with an American Airlines plane near Reagan National Airport outside of Washington, D.C. All 67 people onboard both aircraft are presumed dead.
John Donnelly, Chief of the District of Columbia Fire Department, said on Thursday morning that authorities did not believe there were any survivors, and the mission was shifting "from a rescue operation to a recovery operation."
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President Donald Trump called the deadly crash a "dark and excruciating night in our nation's capital and in our nation's history, and a tragedy of terrible proportions."
"Together, we take solace in the knowledge that their journey ended not in the cold waters of the Potomac, but in the warm embrace of a loving God," Trump said.
In a video statement, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the department knows "on our side who was involved. It was a fairly experienced crew, and that was doing a required annual night evaluation. They did have night vision goggles."
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who was sworn-in hours before the collision, said "everything was standard" before the crash. He also vowed to get answers for the victims’ families and the American people.
In January 2009, Sullenberger landed an Airbus A320 safely in the Hudson River after striking a flock of birds that disabled both engines shortly after takeoff; all 155 people aboard survived. His heroic actions, later dubbed the "miracle on the Hudson," were depicted in the 2016 film "Sully" starring Tom Hanks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Director of national intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard shed further light on her 2017 meeting with then-Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, a trip that has come under the microscope since President Donald Trump nominated the former congresswoman.
"There is not a great deal in the public record about what you and Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad discussed for so long in January of 2017. And I think there's a great deal of interest from the American people about what was discussed in that meeting. So what did you talk about? And did you press Assad on things like his use of chemical weapons, systematic torture and the killing of so many Syrians?" Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., asked Gabbard on Thursday.
Gabbard, when she served in the U.S. House, traveled to Syria in 2017, when she met with the dictator, whose government was overthrown years later in 2024. The visit has become a focal point of Democrats' criticism of the DNI nominee, arguing the visit casts doubt on her worldview and judgment.
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"Yes, senator, I, upon returning from this trip, I met with people like then-Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Steny Hoyer, talked to them and answered their questions about the trip," Gabbard, who served in the U.S. House representing Hawaii from 2013 to 2021, responded.
TENSION BUILDS AROUND TULSI GABBARD’S CONFIRMATION WITH KEY GOP SENATORS UNDECIDED
"And quite frankly, I was surprised that there was no one from the intelligence community or the State Department who reached out or showed any interest whatsoever in my takeaways from that trip. I would have been very happy to have a conversation and give them a back brief. I went with former Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who had been there many times before and who had met with Assad before. A number of topics were covered and discussed. And to directly answer your question, yes. I asked him tough questions about his own regime's actions. The use of chemical weapons and the brutal tactics that were being used against his own people."
Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi also met with Assad in 2007, despite then-President George W. Bush's criticism of the visit at the time.
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"Were you able to extract any concessions from President Assad?" Heinrich asked Gabbard.
"No, and I didn't expect to, but I felt these issues were important to address," she continued.
"Just in complete hindsight, would you, would you view this trip as, good judgment?" the Senate lawmaker continued.
"Yes, senator. And I believe that leaders, whether you be in Congress or the president of the United States, can benefit greatly by going and engaging boots on the ground, learning and listening and meeting directly with people, whether they be adversaries or friends," Gabbard said.
Gabbard is appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday as part of her nomination process to serve as director of national intelligence under the second Trump administration.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth addressed the American people following the deadly collision involving an American Airlines plane and an Army helicopter outside Reagan National Airport. Hegseth says the crash occurred while the Black Hawk was on an annual proficiency training flight.
"We do know on our side who was involved. It was a fairly experienced crew, and that was doing a required annual night evaluation," Hegseth said in a video statement obtained exclusively by Fox News. "We anticipate that the investigation will quickly be able to determine whether the aircraft was in the quarter at the right altitude at the time of the incident."
"It's a tragedy, a horrible loss of life for those 64 souls on that civilian airliner. And of course, the three soldiers in that Black Hawk. They're in our prayers, their families and their communities as people are notified," Hegseth added.
On Wednesday, around 9:00 PM local time, the FAA issued a ground stop at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after a military helicopter with three soldiers collided with a civilian airplane carrying 60 passengers and four crew members.
In a press conference on Thursday morning, DC Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly announced nearly 30 bodies had been recovered from the scene of the collision so far. At this time, authorities do not believe there are any survivors, Donnelly added.
"We have recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter," he added. "Despite all these efforts, we are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation."
AMERICAN AIRLINES CEO EXPRESSES 'DEEP SORROW' AFTER MIDAIR COLLISION
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser thanked first responders for working in a "very frigid" river through the night in what started as a search and rescue mission, which is now a recovery mission.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who was sworn-in hours before the collision, vowed to get answers on behalf of the collision victims’ families and the American people. Duffy noted that the collision occurred on a clear night and that both the airplane and helicopter were in "standard" patterns.
"Safety is our expectation. Everyone who flies in American skies expects that we fly safely, that when you depart an airport, you get to your destination. That didn’t happen last night," Duffy said. Duffy believes that the evidence so far indicates that the collision could have "absolutely" been prevented.
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In a blunt Truth Social post, President Donald Trump called the crash "a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented."
Shortly after the collision, Vice President JD Vance urged people to "say a prayer for everyone involved."
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