PSA Airlines CRJ-700 Collides With Helicopter

A PSA Airlines CRJ-701(ER) operating service has collided with a helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River.

The aircraft was operated as AA5342 by PSA Airlines, a part of the American Airlines Group, which operates flights on behalf of American Eagle and the broader Group.

This service operated between Witciha (ICT) and Washington (DCA) before colliding with a helicopter.

It is reported that the regional aircraft with PSA Airlines collided with a U.S. Army Sikorsky H-60 Blackhawk aircraft.

The FAA has confirmed that this collision happened while the CRJ aircraft approached Runway 33 at Ronald Regan Washington National Airport around 9 pm local time.

The NTSB has been confirmed to lead the investigation, with the FAA being part of the broader investigation to get to the bottom of the significant incident unfolding.

The PSA Airlines Aircraft

N709PS was the aircraft registered to American Eagle, a CRJ-701(ER) first delivered to MidAtlantic Airways in 2004, operating as N165MD.

After serving MidAtlantc Airways, the aircraft was registered to US Airways Express and PSA Airlines before it officially began flying with American Eagle on 9 December 2013 and sees its services operating still by PSA Airlines.

The CRJ family of aircraft are known as workhorses across the American Airlines Group, with divisions such as PSA Airlines focusing on regional connectivity across the United States.

The now written-off aircraft, therefore, operated many flights per day and, based on Flightradar24 data, was on its 5th flight of the day with one more scheduled between Washington and Burlington, which has been cancelled.

Throughout the 29th of January, the aircraft operated the following:

• AA5218 between Greenville-Spartanburg (GSP) and Washington (DCA)
• AA5253 between Washington (DCA) and Cleveland (CLE)
• AA5253 between Cleveland (CLE) and Washington (DCA)
• AA5499 between Washington (DCA) and Wichita (ICT)
• AA5342 (LAST FLIGHT) between Wichita (ICT) and Washington (DCA)