Investigators from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from American Airlines flight 5342, which crashed into the Potomac River while on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29, 2025.
The American Airlines jet crashed into the Potomac River, outside of Washington, D.C, after colliding with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter. The mid-air collision claimed a total of 67 lives.
During a media briefing relating to the incident, a spokesperson for the NTSB confirmed that it is “too early to determine” if the crash was down to a mechanical fault or down to human error. The NTSB also confirmed that they would place 50 members of its team at the scene of the crash.
Additionally, the US Department of Transportation’s (DOT) newly appointed head Sean Duffy has vowed to “fix” the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in the wake of the mid-air collision. “I am in the process of developing an initial plan to fix the FAA," Duffy said on X, formerly Twitter. "I hope to put it out very shortly."
He also confirmed that he would be visiting the FAA’s command centre and recovery hangar, emphasising that he will continue to keep the families and the public up to date with what the DOT are doing, in regard to the ongoing crash investigation.
American Airlines flight 5342 was en route to Washington, D.C from Wichita, Kansas. The American Eagle flight was operated by PSA Airlines — a wholly owned regional subsidiary of American — on a CRJ-700 aircraft.
The NTSB expect to release a preliminary report into the crash in the next 30 days.