As it was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport. Along with the three individuals in the helicopter, all 64 passengers aboard the aircraft perished.
Before it became a corpse retrieval effort, a large search was launched to look for survivors when both planes fell into the Potomac River.
The aircraft and helicopter’s stated altitudes at the time of the accident differed, according to the recorder of American Airlines Flight 5342.
Although air traffic control tower data indicated the military helicopter was flying at an altitude of approximately 200 feet when it collided with the commercial plane,
The NTSB said data recovered from the flight recorder inside the aircraft claimed it was cruising at about 325 feet, with a 25-foot margin of error on either side.
