Air Traffic Control Audio From American Airlines Plane Horror Emerges: 'I Just Saw a Fireball… and Then it Was Gone' — As Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Admits 'A Mistake Was Made'

Chilling audio from the moment an American Airlines flight collided with a Black Hawk military helicopter as emerged, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

A ground control employee called in after seeing a "fire ball" in the sky before losing sight of both aircrafts as they fell out of the sky and into the nearly frozen Potomac River below.

Officials believed there were no survivors on either aircraft. American Airlines flight 5342 reportedly had 60 passengers and four crew members on board, and three passengers were said to be traveling on the helicopter's "training flight."

While addressing the fatal incident, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Army helicopter was being flown by "a fairly experienced crew," before admitting "a mistake was made."

He added: "It’s a tragedy, a horrible loss of life."

As investigators work to uncover what went wrong resulting in the deadly collision, jarring video footage and audio recordings taking from on the ground has started to surface.

One of which included a nearly minute-and-a-half audio call from Air Traffic Control (ATC) operators around the time the incident took place. Flight 5342 was cleared for and preparing to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport just outside of Washington D.C. when it collided with the helicopter.

In the audio recording, ATC operators could be heard asking the helicopter pilots if the commercial plane was in their line of sight.

The operator said: "AT 2-5 do you have the CRJ in sight?"

Moments later the operator sent a command to the helicopter: "Pat 2-5 pass behind the CRJ."

According to CNN, an audible gasp could then be heard – and the ATC operator then alerted another commercial pilot of the incident.

They said: "I don't know if you caught earlier what happened, but there was a collision on the approach end 3-3. We are going to be shutting down operations for the indefinite future if you want to go back to the gate.

"Highly suggest you guys coordinate with the company. Let me know what you want to do."

Sadly, the pilot of the other commercial flight responded and said they witnessed the collision, telling ATC: "Yeah, we were on short final and we saw flares from the opposite side of the Potomac."

An ATC controller relayed what they saw as the tragedy unfolded, recalling: "It was probably out in the middle of the river. Um, I just saw a fireball and then it was just gone. I haven't seen anything since they hit the river."

Later, an approach controller said in another communication: "Apparently both aircraft involved are in the river, a search and rescue will be ongoing."

Search and rescue efforts have since transitioned to recovery efforts. At least 28 bodies have been recovered from the river.

Both aircrafts were said to have landed in the Potomac upside down. Among the victims on board the American Airlines flight included several U.S. figure skating team members and their coaches.

U.S. Figure Skating released a statement on the tragedy: "U.S. Figure Skating can confirm that several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter on Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C. These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas.

"We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts."