JOINT BASE ANACOSTIA-BOLLING, Washington, D.C -- Before the first reports aired or headlines spread, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations stood ready.
On Jan. 29, around 9:42 p.m., American Airlines Flight 5342 collided midair with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River near Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport. Sixty-seven people were killed.
Just four miles south, at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Special Agent Sade Spencer, commander of AFOSI Detachment 336, watched the first reports trickle in. The footage was grainy, but the reality of the mass casualty event was unmistakable.
Then, her phone rang.
On the other end was Col. Ryan Crowley, commander of the 11th Wing. The base’s Crisis Action Team was activated, he said, and AFOSI would be central to the response at JBAB.
“During one of the most challenging incidents we’ve faced here at [JBAB], the AFOSI team demonstrated exceptional resilience and teamwork,” Crowley said. “Their rapid response and unwavering commitment to the mission was critical to the [Defense Department’s] support to the unified command.”
Navigating the unknown
As soon as the call ended, Spencer and her team moved without hesitation.
“At first, everyone just reacted,” she said. “We gathered at the wing building, quickly figuring out responsibilities and where each of us needed to be. The initial chaos gave way to coordination.”
Nearly a decade ago, Spencer faced another disaster. While deployed to Afghanistan in 2016, she investigated the aftermath of a suicide bombing, an experience she said taught her readiness wasn’t about urgency, but about precision and deliberate action.
Now, that lesson returned.
Within hours, Det. 336 was fully operational. Their mission wasn’t just recovery, Spencer said, it was preservation. Every piece of debris was potential evidence, and it was their job to ensure nothing was lost to the river along JBAB and support the larger investigation led by the National Transportation Safety Board.
A small boat slip on base, typically used for weekend fishing, became a launch site for the operation.
As wreckage drifted toward JBAB, Special Agents worked alongside the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, coordinating efforts in real-time.
As more federal agencies joined, Det. 336 became the central hub for multi-agency coordination, ensuring all jurisdictions worked in sync to support of the larger NTSB investigation.
“Within the first 48 hours, it felt like we’d been working together for years,” Spencer said. “[Special Agent Nicholas Gooden-Bustamante] quickly established roles and responsibilities, ensuring seamless coordination across agencies.”
According to Gooden-Bustamante, the detachment’s senior enlisted agent, managing multiple jurisdictions required careful collaboration. Without it, the response could have easily unraveled.
But it didn’t.
“Honestly, it takes a village, and that’s what we had,” Spencer said. “Everyone, whether from Security Forces, NCIS, FBI, or any other part of the team, brought their strengths to the table. Seeing how everyone worked together, even with limited personnel, was incredible.”
Before daylight broke over the Potomac, an eerie silence settled over the crash site. It brought the scope of their mission in focus.
“We were essentially in the dark, not just literally, but also because we didn’t know what we were dealing with,” Spencer said, regarding the first night. “And that’s the hardest part for any first responder, waiting and not knowing what’s coming. You can’t act without information, and that waiting game, especially when there’s so much at stake, is the worst.”
Through darkness, uncertainty, and exhaustion, Spencer said her Special Agents proved their strength wasn’t just in their training, but also their ability to adapt and rise to the moment when it mattered most.
Coordinating efforts
With a small team and an unpredictable situation, the Det. 336 investigators had to be strategic in how they operated.
“We immediately went into a 24-hour posture that night, knowing we would be in it for the long haul,” Spencer said. “As soon as we grasped the situation, we transitioned into continuous operations, knowing that it would take time and sustained effort to get through everything.”
As days turned into weeks, Det. 336 maintained round-the-clock operations, rotating shifts to sustain the response without disrupting other AFOSI investigations.
“Throughout the week of the crash and those following, agents across the National Capital Region stepped in to support the response, ensuring those who worked the initial phase had opportunities to rest,” said Special Agent Kathryn Koonz, AFOSI Det. 336 criminal and fraud branch chief.
For Koonz, this was a testament to AFOSI’s ability to manage crises without compromising its broader mission.
“This further speaks to the Special Agents' ability to address the myriad of matters that arrive on our doorstep,” she said. “It’s a core part of AFOSI’s mission to support our partners amidst an incredibly tumultuous time.”
The operation required extensive coordination of resources and personnel, with roughly 15 military units from JBAB, NCIS Washington Field Office, and Air Force District of Washington (AFDW) units, as well as 23 local agencies supporting the mission, Gooden-Bustamante said.
“The collaboration between these groups highlighted the significant scale of the operation,” he continued. “This effort was not just about recovering casualties and debris; it was also about maintaining operational continuity efficiently.”
With so many agencies involved and an evolving situation, AFOSI also had to be deliberate in managing its personnel and resources to ensure a sustained response.
“We didn’t want to put all of our agents out there at once and risk leaving ourselves without backup in case something else came up,” Spencer said. “So, we kept a team on standby, just in case we needed more hands to respond quickly to any other incidents or unexpected developments.”
One of the biggest challenges was the river itself, Spencer said. The Potomac’s unpredictable tidal conditions made search and recovery a race against nature.
To combat this, hundreds of flags were placed to mark debris for collection, creating a mapped grid for dive teams to systematically scour the river’s depths and shoreline.
But securing the crash site itself was just as critical.
At JBAB, Special Agents worked alongside the 11th Security Forces Squadron and other 11th Wing units to protect evidence and prevent unauthorized access to the installation, Gooden-Bustamante said.
“There was a close collaboration with agencies like the FBI Emergency Response Team and the NCIS Washington Field Office to ensure thorough crash debris documentation and processing,” he said. “Our collective efforts also supported the 11th Wing commander, Col. Ryan Crowley, with receiving timely updates to maintain stakeholder communication and situational awareness during the response efforts.”
Service recognized
As recovery teams worked through the days and nights, the weight of the moment was inescapable. Yet, amid the conditions, Spencer said her team rose to the occasion with professionalism beyond their years.
“My average tenured agents have about two and a half years,” Spencer said. “Despite the relatively short tenure of our team, they showed up with such professionalism, it felt like they’d been doing this their whole lives. It’s impressive how quickly they rose to the occasion under extreme pressure.”
Watching her team operate with composure was a defining moment for the detachment commander.
Their response did not go unnoticed.
On Jan. 31, Brig. Gen. Joel W. Safranek, Deputy Inspector General of the Department of the Air Force, visited the JBAB detachment to personally commend their extraordinary efforts.
“It was incredibly humbling,” Spencer said. “Having the Deputy IG come by and acknowledge the team’s work was a big moment. It was validating and rewarding.”
For Spencer, the tragedy was more than a test of operational readiness, she said. It was a defining moment that pushed her team not only professionally but personally, challenging them to navigate the emotional weight of their work.
“Our AFOSI Special Agents helping with recovery and identification efforts have helped families start the healing process,” Safranek said. “Additionally, our agents’ work to get aircraft debris to help the safety board determine a cause will help families and America with closure. I appreciated the opportunity to tell them personally.”
Through long hours, bitter cold, and the gravity of the loss, her Special Agents had proven their resilience under extraordinary circumstances, she said.
“AFOSI’s tireless efforts during this heartbreaking event provided a tangible testament to our core values and the strength of our force,” Crowley said. “I am honored to serve with each of them.”