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30th January 2025
12:08pm GMT
A heartbroken husband has shared the devastating final text he received from his wife just moments before an American Airlines flight collided with a US Army helicopter and plummeted into the Potomac River in Washington DC.
64 people were on board American Airlines flight 5342 as it approached Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport at 9pm local time last time.
The passenger plane broke into multiple pieces after it struck the helicopter in mid-air, before careering into the river below.
While there are no official figures for the number of dead or injured, CBS News reports that at least 19 bodies have been found so far.
One of the victims on board was Hamaad Raza's wife.
Mr Raza told WUSA that his wife, whose name he did not share, had been traveling back from a work trip in Kansas.
She sent him a final text before tragedy struck, which read: "Landing in 20 minutes." Raza added that he tried to respond, but his message never went through. That’s when he felt a sinking feeling that something was wrong.
"I’m praying someone is pulling her from the river as we speak," he told the outlet.
A clip published online, and reviewed by CNN, purports to capture the air traffic control conversation in the moments before the crash. A controller can reportedly be heard warning the helicopter about the plane, but receiving no reply. The audio has not been verified by the BBC.
The FAA said it would investigate the incident, together with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
LiveATC.net has released live audio of the final moments of communication between air traffic control and the helicopter, which it refers to as PAT25.
“PAT25, do you have a CRJ in sight? PAT25, pass behind the CRJ,” an air traffic controller said at 8.47 p.m.
Moments later, a different aircraft called in: “Tower, did you see that?”
“Crash, crash, crash, this is an alert three,” one of the air traffic controllers can be heard saying.
“I don’t know if you caught earlier what happened, but there was a collision on the approach into 33. We’re going to be shutting down operations for the indefinite future,” another says.
“Both the helicopter and the plane crashed in the river,” a third can be heard saying.
“It was probably out in the middle of the river,” the controller said. “I just saw a fireball and then it was just gone. I haven’t seen anything since they hit the river. But it was a CRJ and a helicopter that hit.”
A search and rescue operation is underway, with 300 emergency responders on the scene, including divers, boats and helicopters.
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