American Airlines flight carrying 64 collides with Black Hawk helicopter near Washington, DC

• A passenger jet collided midair with a military helicopter near Reagan National Airport.
• Four crew and 60 passengers were on board, per a statement from American Airlines.
• The US Army UH-60 Black Hawk was on a training flight, according to a military spokesperson.

A passenger jet carrying 64 people collided midair with a military helicopter Wednesday night during its final approach into Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

In a press conference early Thursday, officials gave no updates on survivors, but suggested that many families had likely lost loved ones.

PSA Airlines flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, was involved in the crash, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

PSA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Airlines and operates regional flights.

The Black Hawk involved was on a training flight, a spokeswoman for Joint Task Force-National Capital Region said in a statement to Business Insider.

"We can confirm that the aircraft involved in tonight's incident was an Army UH-60 helicopter from Bravo Company, 12th Aviation Battalion, out of Davison Army Airfield, Fort Belvoir during a training flight," Heather Chairez, the JTF-NCR's media chief, said.

The helicopter was carrying three people, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a press conference early Thursday morning.

A live stream taken from the Kennedy Center by EarthCam showed an explosion as the helicopter collided with the plane, a Bombardier CRJ700.

Bowser said at a press conference that "our focus is getting the passengers and crew out of the water" but she wouldn't disclose any information on potential fatalities or survivors.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.

A spokesperson for US Figure Skating, the country's governing body for the sport, told BI that "several members" of the organization were on board the flight.

"These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas," the spokesperson said.

She added: "We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims' families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available."

DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said about 300 people were working on the rescue and recovery effort.

"The water is dark, it is murky, and that is a very tough condition for them to dive in," he said.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted a statement from President Donald Trump on X, which said he has been "fully briefed" on the situation.

"May God bless their souls," the statement added.

On Truth Social, Trump questioned the actions of the helicopter crew and air traffic control. "This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented," he said.

Newly confirmed US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted to X, saying the department is monitoring the situation.

In a video posted to the American Airlines website, CEO Robert Isom said the airline was "cooperating fully" with the NTSB's investigation of the crash.

"Anything we can do, we are doing, and right now, that means focusing on taking care of all passengers and crew involved, as well as their families," he said.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was closed to all aircraft after the crash. Officials said it would remain closed until 11 a.m. ET on Thursday.

Anthony Brickhouse, a US-based aviation expert, told BI that the crash was tragic, but he was not surprised it happened.

"We've had so many close calls with runway incursions and commercial flights almost colliding, and when something repeats over and over again, we call that a trend," he said.

"We've been trending in this direction for two or three years now, and unfortunately, tonight, it happened," he added.

Several near-misses have taken place in recent years, in cities like Austin and New York.

But this marks the first major commercial plane crash in the US since 2009, when Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed over Buffalo, killing 49 onboard and one person on the ground.

It's the third major plane crash worldwide since December.

An Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer plane crashed last month, with some blaming Russian air defenses. Thirty-eight people died.

A few days later, a Boeing 737 operated by Korean carrier Jeju Airlines crashed in South Korea, killing 179 people. Two people survived.

This story is developing, check back for more information.