The model of the plane involved in Wednesday’s collision with a military helicopter over the Potomac River never had a fatal incident before the crash. Sixty passengers and four crew from the Bombardier CRJ-700 series aircraft are presumed dead from the crash,

U.S. commercial pilot Rick Redfern was preparing to land at Reagan Washington National Airport about a decade ago when he spotted a bright red Coast Guard helicopter hovering about 50 feet (15 m) above the Potomac River.

A person uses a phone at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the Potomac River, in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., January 30, 2025. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

More than 60 people were killed when an American Airlines regional passenger jet collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday and crashed into the frigid Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.