News

U.S News Headlines Today: Deadly Midair Crash Over D.C. Area, Four Other Stories

1. The fatal midair collision Wednesday between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter has revived concerns about aviation safety in the country, given that it followed a string of near misses at airports over the last several years.

Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, where the crash happened, had at least two close calls last year. In April, a plane operated by Southwest Airlines nearly crossed the same runway that a JetBlue flight was using to take off. A month later, an American Airlines jet almost crashed with a small airplane.

Those near misses were among the 1,757 “runway incursions” documented by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2024. The term describes incidents involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft, person or other vehicle on a runway, and can range from minor (with no immediate safety consequences) to serious (in which a collision was narrowly avoided).

2. Investigators are searching for answers after a midair collision near Washington, D.C., on Wednesday evening killed 67 people.

The crash took place at around 8:48 p.m. near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, just south of the city, when a small passenger plane making its final approach to the airport collided with an Army helicopter.

The collision involved American Eagle Flight 5342, a small plane carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, and an Army Black Hawk helicopter with three people on board.

The helicopter was performing an “annual proficiency training flight” at the time of the crash, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday.

3. Just 11 days into his presidency, Donald Trump has been confronted with a national tragedy that claimed dozens of lives after a passenger jet carrying 64 people collided midair with an Army helicopter in the Washington, D.C., region Wednesday night.

His response bypassed the usual playbook that presidents typically follow after a tragedy, just as his campaign broke from political norms time and again.

Without waiting for a full investigation — or a list of the victims — the president began pointing fingers and going on the attack. Rather than using it as a moment to forgo political combat and and focus on the victims, he took the opportunity to push his agenda against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

4. Nancy Kerrigan stepped to the microphone at the Boston Skating Club in Norwood, Massachusetts, visibly shaken.

Just hours earlier she had heard the news of Wednesday night’s tragedy, in which 64 people aboard a commercial airliner died after it collided with a military helicopter midair near Reagan Washington National Airport.

Six of those victims were affiliated with the Boston club: two coaches, two skaters and two mothers, according to CEO Doug Zeghibe. He said the group was returning home from the National Development Camp associated with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas.

Kerrigan, a two-time Olympic figure skating medalist and alum of the club, spoke with tears running down her face.

5. Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University said it was “deeply saddened” to learn about the passing of Captain Jonathan Campos, who was one of the pilots killed on the American Airlines flight that collided with an Army helicopter on Wednesday.

“Our thoughts are with his family and the families and loved ones of all impacted by this tragic accident,” the university said in a statement issued yesterday.

Campos graduated from Emery-Riddle with a degree in aeronautical science in 2015.

All 67 people aboard an American Eagle flight from Kansas and an Army helicopter were killed in the collision incident.

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