Plane crashes into Potomac River after collision with helicopter near Reagan National Airport

Vice President JD Vance asked for prayers for those aboard the plane that crashed in Virginia this evening.

“Please say a prayer for everyone involved in the mid-air collision near Reagan airport this evening. We’re monitoring the situation, but for now let’s hope for the best,” Vance wrote on X.

The midair collision over the Potomac River was captured in grainy black-and-white video.

A webcam at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts appeared to record the helicopter and the passenger airplane coming together.

Rachel Maddow reports breaking news of an aircraft in the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport after reports of a midair collision, with emergency first responders’ arrival on the scene complicated by ice and frigid temperatures. NBC News senior correspondent Tom Costello joins coverage.

Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., who represents the area where National Airport is located, said on X: “I am following the response to a reported aviation incident at DCA, and am in touch with airport officials as we try to learn more about what happened and why.

“This is obviously very worrying, but I urge the community to please let first responders do their jobs and save lives,” Beyer continued.

The lights of dozens of emergency vehicles fill the skyline across the Potomac River.

A helicopter has been circling above the Potomac, with its searchlight aimed toward the water.

There is nothing visible in the water from my vantage point.

Onlookers have filled the area.

An American Airlines regional jet collided with a helicopter as it approached a runway at Reagan Airport at around 9 p.m., the FAA said in a statement.

“A PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet collided in midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on approach to Runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 p.m. local time,” the agency said.

“PSA was operating Flight 5342 as American Airlines. It departed from Wichita, Kansas,'” it said.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate, the FAA said, with the NTSB taking the lead.

“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,” American Airlines said in a statement on X. “We will provide information as it becomes available.”

Several agencies are coordinating a search and rescue operation in the Potomac River after multiple calls about an aircraft crash, the Metropolitan Police Department and D.C. Fire and EMS said in a statement.

The calls came in at 8:53 p.m., the statement said.

“There is no confirmed information on casualties at this time,” the statement said.

President Donald Trump has been briefed on the crash involving a regional jet and a helicopter, the White House press office said tonight.

The White House press secretary,  Karoline Leavitt, said on FOX News that the administrations’ thoughts and prayers are with all those involved.

“We ask the public in this area to please stand by for guidance from law enforcement and allow them to do their jobs as they attempt to save lives,” Leavitt said.

The airport, located in Arlington, Virginia, halted all takeoffs and landings, saying emergency officials were responding “to an aircraft incident on the airfield.”

Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department said that it was also responding to “an apparent air crash in the Potomac River” and that multiple agencies were responding.

An American Airlines regional jet inbound to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is believed to have collided with a helicopter near the airport, a source familiar with the situation told NBC News.

“Confirmed small aircraft down in Potomac River vicinity Reagan National Airport. Fireboats on scene,” Washington’s Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department said on X shortly after 9 p.m.

Authorities did not identify the aircraft or where it was coming from in public statements on social media, but a U.S. senator from Kansas said it was from his state.

“Learning that a plane inbound from Kansas was involved in a crash at DCA,” Sen. Jerry Moran, using the initials that refer to Reagan National Airport, said on X. “I am in contact with authorities. Please join me in praying for all involved.”

The other senator representing Kansas, Roger Marshall, said on X: “I’ve seen the reports of a collision with a D.C. helicopter and an inbound flight from Wichita, KS.”

“We are in contact with authorities working to get answers. We ask you to join us in prayer for every single passenger and their families,” Marshall wrote.

A source with knowledge of the situation said the jet was inbound from Wichita.