American Airlines Flight 5342: plane model, years in service, safety record, flight and accident history

More details of the tragic accident involving American Airlines Flight 5342 are starting to emerge. The commercial airliner plummeted into the freezing depths of the Potomac River in Washington DC after a mid-air collision with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter just before 9:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

What kind of plane crashed into the Potomac River?

The plane involved in the accident was a Bombardier CRJ700 series - a twin jet airliner with two General Electric CF34-8C5 engines mounted on the rear fuselage with a T-tail horizontal stabilizer.

The CRJ-700 can accommodate 68 passengers and has two seating configurations: the first with nine seats in First Class, 16 in Premium Economy, and 40 in Economy, and another with nine seats in First Class, 12 in Premium Economy, and 44 in Economy.

The plane which crashed into the Potomac River on Thursday was a a CRJ700 registered as N709PS which first came into service in May 1999.

AA Flight 5342 departed Wichita Eisenhower airport in Kansas at 5:18 p.m. on Thursday 30 January 2025 and was due to arrive at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington at 9:03 p.m.

Daily route between Wichita and Washington

The same plane had made the flight from Wichita to Washington almost every day - a journey with a flight time of two hours and 45 minutes. It also flew from Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks to Reagan DCA and made the return trip on Tuesday 21 January and Wednesday 22nd.

The CRJ700 which crashed in Washington was manufactured in September 2004 and made an average of 50 short-to-medium-haul flights per year since its maiden flight. It was transferred to American Eagle in December 2013.

There have been three reported accidents involving Bombardier CRJ700 series planes - two collisions with other planes while taxiing on the runway. The first at John F. Kennedy International Airport in May 2018 and the second in September last year. Neither incident produced fatalities.

The AA Flight 5342 accident is the first fatal accident for American Airlines in 23 years. Flight 587 crashed shortly after takeoff from JFK airport on November 12, 2001, killing all 260 people aboard.