By Matt Delaney – The Washington Times – Thursday, January 30, 2025

Officials said Thursday morning they don’t anticipate finding any survivors from the midair collision involving a commercial jet carrying more than 60 people and an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport that occurred the night before.

D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said the operation pivoted from a “rescue” to a “recovery” mission as emergency crews try to find the victims’ bodies in the aircraft wreckage scattered around the Potomac River.

“At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident,” the chief said at a 7:30 a.m. briefing “We have recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter. 

The District Office of the Medical Examiner has the lead on reuniting the victims’ remains with their loved ones, the chief said. 

“We will continue to work to find all bodies and collect them and reunite them with their loved ones,” Chief Donnelly said.