Wichita flight to DC had only been running for a year before crash over Potomac River
An American Airlines flight going from Wichita to Washington, D.C., went down in the Potomac River after colliding with a military Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday. It comes just one year after Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport started offering nonstop flights to Washington.
American Airlines flight 5342 was scheduled to leave at 5:18 p.m. and land at 8:03 p.m. Central Standard Time. Reports came in shortly after 8 p.m. that it had collided with a helicopter on its descent into the Ronald Reagan National Airport.
The airport offering the direct flight to the nation’s capital was first announced to the public in July 2023 and began daily service on Jan. 8, 2024. American Airlines currently offers Sunday-Friday direct service to Washington, leaving the ICT airport at 5:41 p.m. and arriving in DC at 9:26 p.m. every day.
“We’re aware of reports that American Eagle flight 5342, operated by PSA, with service from Wichita, Kansas (ICT) to Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) has been involved in an incident. We will provide information as it becomes available,” American Airlines said in a post on the social media platform X.
The nonstop flight is one out of five locations that American Airlines offers from ICT, and one of the 16 routes available at Wichita’s airport.
Officials announced Thursday morning that there are not believed to be any survivors of the crash. There were 60 passengers and 4 crew members onboard the American Airlines jet.
Among those on board were members of the U.S. Figure Skating community who stayed in Wichita after the Figure Skating Championships for an advanced training program for top juvenile skaters. It’s unclear how many passengers on the plane were Wichitans.
This story was originally published January 29, 2025 at 10:30 PM with the headline "Wichita flight to DC had only been running for a year before crash over Potomac River."
