Officials said there are no survivors after a commercial jet with 64 passengers and an Army helicopter carrying three soldiers collided shortly before 9 p.m. on Jan. 29 outside of Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Arlington and plummeted into the Potomac River.
An Alexandria Police Department dispatch at exactly 9 p.m. described the event as a “mass casualty incident” and deployed Alexandria fireboats and ambulances.
An initial investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration found that air traffic controller staffing at Reagan National Airport during the crash was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” according to the New York Times. One air traffic controller was covering two different positions at the time of the collision, but a former FAA air traffic manager, told CNN this was a common practice. The airport reopened the day following the crash and is at full operational capacity, though several airlines canceled some scheduled flights.
The airport had 19 fully certified controllers as of September 2023, according to a report to Congress, which is well below the FAA’s target of 30. But as one of his first actions as president, Donald J. Trump froze hiring for groups of federal employees including air traffic control personnel. Trump, at a press conference in the White House, blamed Barack Obama, Joe Biden and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives for the crash.
Washington’s Fire Chief John Donnelly confirmed the worst possible scenario at a separate Thursday morning press conference.
“We don’t believe there are any survivors,” he said, adding that “extremely frigid conditions,” including “heavy wind” and “ice on the water,” made the rescue operation difficult to manage.
Horrifying audio from the police scanner the previous night revealed that divers found multiple people still buckled into their seats. As of Feb. 2, 55 victims have been identified, Donnelly said at a press conference. Donnelly said that after officials extracted the plane the following day, they would be able to “recover everyone.” That task was complete on Tuesday, Feb. 4.
Three students and six parents — including two school officials — from Fairfax County Public Schools were on the fatal flight, with several returning from a figure skating camp, according to a statement from the FCPS superintendent of schools.
It is still unclear if any Alexandria residents were involved in the crash.
“Our prayers are with everyone affected,” said Alyia Gaskins, Alexandria’s mayor, in a statement. “This devastating loss is felt by all of us.”
This article was first published in Theogony, Alexandria City High School’s student-run newspaper.