Chilling Audio Reveals Air Traffic Control's Final Instructions to Doomed Black Hawk, Panicked Aftermath

Just moments before a Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger jet collided over the Potomac River on Wednesday, air traffic controllers instructed the military aircraft to steer clear of the approaching jet.

“PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ,” an air traffic controller directed, using the call sign for the Army chopper and referring to the Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine jet as "CRJ."

Despite the warning, the two aircraft crashed seconds later, leading to a catastrophic incident that claimed the lives of everyone on board both the jet and the helicopter, according to WTTG.

Following the impact, debris rained down into the Potomac near Reagan National Airport. An air traffic controller, reacting to the collision, can be heard saying, “Yep, we saw it. Everybody just hold your positions please on the field right now.”

All 60 passengers and four crew members aboard the passenger jet, along with the three soldiers in the Black Hawk, perished in the accident.

The CRJ, arriving from Wichita, Kansas, had been instructed to land on Runway 33. Meanwhile, air traffic control reached out to the Sikorsky UH-60 helicopter, as reported by Fox News.

“PAT25, do you have the CRJ in sight? PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ,” the controller repeated.

Fox News noted that a response was received, but it came through “on a different frequency, a frequency for helicopters.”

Shortly before the collision, an audio transmission from the helicopter stated, “Aircraft in sight. Request visual separation.”

Eyewitnesses, including tower controllers, saw the tragic impact unfold in real time, with their shocked reactions caught on audio.

“Tower, did you see that?” one controller asked, according to Fox.

“Yup, we saw it,” another responded.

“Everybody hold your positions on the field right now,” an air traffic controller instructed.

A frantic dispatch followed: “Fire command. The accident happened in the river. Both the helicopter and the plane crashed in the river. … He approached into Runway 33.”

As the gravity of the situation set in, controllers shut down all air traffic.

“All runways are closed. Nobody’s landing. No one moving at all,” one said.

The controller continued, “It was probably out in the middle of the river. I just saw a fireball and then it was just gone. I haven’t seen anything since they hit the river. But it was a CRJ and a helicopter that hit, I would say about a half mile off the approach into 33.”

Distress signals and urgent alerts flooded the radio as controllers processed the disaster.

“Crash, crash, crash, this is an alert three,” one controller announced, per USA Today.

Another added, “I don’t know if you caught earlier what happened, but there was a collision on the approach into 33. We’re going to be shutting down operations for the indefinite future.”

“Both the helicopter and the plane crashed in the river,” a final transmission confirmed.