Following Wednesday’s deadly collision between American flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C., the airline is removing the flight number from its schedule.
Flight 5342 – operated by American’s wholly owned regional subsidiary PSA Airlines – was operating between Wichita, Kansas, and Washington. The CRJ-700 and the helicopter collided over the Potomac River while the jet was on approach to Reagan National Airport.
All 64 passengers and crew onboard the jet are dead, in addition to three on the helicopter.
As first noted by Aeroroutes, the Wichita-to-D.C. route will be renumbered as flight 5677 effective Friday. Thursday’s flight was canceled.
A spokesperson from the airline told AirlineGeeks that flight 5342 would be retired, despite it being loaded for multiple flights in 2025.
The practice of retiring flight numbers after a major accident is not uncommon in the industry. Wednesday’s crash was the deadliest accident involving a U.S. airline since 2001.
“Flight AA5342 will not be used for any future American Airlines flights,” an airline spokesperson said in a statement.
American began nonstop service between Wichita and Reagan National in January 2024. Flights operate once daily between the two cities.
