If changes aren't made, that near-miss becomes a mid-air collision,” one aviation safety expert said. “Unfortunately, that's what we had last night.”

Everyone aboard an American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members that collided with an Army helicopter was feared dead in what was likely to be the worst U.S. aviation disaster in almost a quarter century,

DCA is one of the most demanding airports in the world. It also has what’s known as ‘helicopter alley’ with hundreds of police, military, news and rescue helicopters criss-crossing

The airspace around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport has long been problematic due to heavy military and commercial flight activity in the nation’s capital, according to industry insiders.

American Airlines passenger jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport near Washington, D.C. The jet, which was flying from Wichita, Kansas, carried 64 people, while the helicopter had three people on board.

More than 60 people were killed when an American Airlines regional passenger jet collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday and crashed into the frigid Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Wednesday night’s crash of an American Airlines commuter plane in Washington could be one of the worst disasters for the Fort Worth-based airline in more than two decades.

The collision between an American Airlines Group Inc. regional jet and a military helicopter near Ronald Reagan airport in Washington left no survivors on board the two aircraft, authorities said,

The Federal Aviation Administration in a statement said American Airlines Flight 5342, departing from Wichita, Kansas to Washington, collided around 9 p.m. midair while approaching the runway with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter.

While officials have not said how many people died or were injured, the crash has already taken an emotional toll on the local communities.

DCA Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport has shut down and The Federal Aviation Authority has confirmed a American Airlines Flight operated by PSA Airlines collided mid-air with a Blackhawk Sikor