What You Need to Know About the Major Plane Crashes of 2025

The Delta Air Lines crash at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday is the latest in a series of accidents this year that has spread anxiety among air travelers and prompted sharp criticism of American aviation regulators.

Here are the three major U.S. accidents so far in 2025:

American Airlines jet and Army helicopter collide

On the night of Jan. 29, an American Airlines plane was approaching Washington’s Reagan National Airport when it collided with an Army helicopter that was on a training mission.

The collision set off a fireball and sent both aircraft and 67 people — 64 on the Bombardier CRJ700 and three on the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter — crashing into the Potomac River. There were no survivors.

It was the deadliest air crash in the United States in 20 years. In the aftermath, questions emerged about the flight paths of the helicopter and the plane, and whether staffing at Reagan National’s air traffic control contributed to the collision. An investigation is ongoing.

Medical jet goes down in Philadelphia

A small medical plane slammed into the ground in northeast Philadelphia a minute after taking off on Jan. 31, bursting into fire and engulfing homes and vehicles in flames. All six people on board, and one person on the ground, were killed, the authorities said.

The Learjet 55 was transporting a child who had completed treatment in Philadelphia to her home in Mexico. She was accompanied by her mother, and there were also two pilots, a doctor and a paramedic on board, according to Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, which operated the plane.

Regional plane crashes in remote Alaska

A small passenger plane carrying 10 people vanished on Feb. 6 as it was flying to Nome, Alaska. Its disappearance set off a massive search operation, with Coast Guard and Air Force planes scanning a remote area along the western coast of Alaska.

The Cessna 208 Caravan was operated by Bering Air, a regional airline. Its wreckage, with the bodies of the pilot and nine passengers, was found the next day.

Before it crashed, its pilot had told air traffic control that he intended to enter a holding pattern while waiting for the runway in Nome to be cleared, according to the Nome fire department. But Alaska’s Transportation Department said the runway that the plane had been approaching had remained open throughout that day.