FACT CHECK: Was Barrack Obama on the Army Helicopter that Collided with American Airlines Flight that Killed All Onboard?
On January 29, 2025, an Army helicopter collided with an American Airlines passenger plane near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C. The flight, arriving from Wichita, Kansas, had 64 people on board, while the helicopter carried three. All passengers and crew members were presumed dead.
Moments after the crash, a rumor went viral about the crash, claiming that former U.S. President Barack Obama was on the military helicopter. Several posts on Facebook and X claimed that the VIP aboard the Blackhawk helicopter was none other than the former president. The above claims are false as Obama was nowhere part of the flight and he himself has confirmed it.
Weird Claim
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Official sources have verified that the three people on the helicopter were soldiers. Also, if Obama had been on board, it would have undoubtedly made major headlines. Obama personally released a statement on his X account, expressing his grief over the crash, which further confirmed that he was not aboard the helicopter.
Obama instead wrote: “Our hearts break for the families who lost loved ones in the tragic plane and helicopter crash at DCA. Michelle and I send our prayers and condolences to everyone who is mourning today, and we’re grateful to the first responders who are doing everything they can to help under extremely difficult circumstances.”
On Thursday morning, authorities told the media that they believed there were no survivors from either the airplane or the helicopter crash. Washington D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said that the focus of operations was transitioning from search-and-rescue to recovery efforts.
“At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident, and we have recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter,” he said.
Midair Tragedy
Pete Hegseth, the newly confirmed U.S. secretary of defense, also released a statement from his office expressing his grief, saying, “It’s a tragedy, a horrible loss of life for those 64 souls on that civilian airliner, and of course the three soldiers in that Black Hawk [helicopter].”
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Hegseth also mentioned that the helicopter was conducting an “annual proficiency training flight,” but the agency refrained from disclosing the names of the soldiers since their families had not been informed.
The American Airlines flight also carried members of the U.S. Figure Skating community, as well as two former Russian figure skaters.
All passengers and crew onboard the Black Hawk helicopter were killed but Obama was nowhere close. The claim is thus absolutely false and baseless.
