A former FAA official and Embry-Riddle professor is urging a thorough investigation into what caused the American Airlines crash in Washington, D.C.

An American Airlines plane carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter outside Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. Wednesday evening. Three soldiers were onboard the helicopter and a massive search and rescue operation is now unfolding in the Potomac River.

An aviation expert is calling for taking "a bulldozer to the front of the FAA" after the fatal collision between an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter over Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.

Latest news and live updates after an American Airline jet collided with a Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River.

An American Airlines jet carrying 64 people collided Wednesday with a helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport, with no survivors expected.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a statement saying that A PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet collided in midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while approaching Washington National Airport at about 9 p.

CEO of American Airlines Robert Isom made a statement in the early morning hours following a midair collision between AA flight 5342 and a military Black Hawk helicopter.

U.S. Figure Skating confirms "several members of our skating community" were on the flight: "We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy."

One of the pilots of the passenger jet involved in a mid-air collision in Washington, D.C. was a native of New York but grew up in Florida, where he learned to fly planes, according to records and statements from those who knew him.

An aviation attorney told Fox News Digital he expects the families of the victims of Wednesday's midair collision will file lawsuits in the coming days.

An American Airlines jet with 60 passengers and four crew members aboard collided Wednesday with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., prompting a large search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River.