The staffing at the air control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was "not normal" when an American Airlines plane and an Army helicopter collided on Wednesday night, a report shows.

Aviation attorney Jim Brauchle told Fox News Digital that a "combination" of factors could have led to the deadly collision near Reagan National Airport.

U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said an investigation into the collision of an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter at Reagan National Airport will likely involve communication between the two aircraft.

More than 30 bodies reportedly recovered so far after American Airlines flight collides in midair with Black Hawk helicopter

• Washington DC plane crash – latest updates

Rescuers are scouring the Potomac River in Washington DC after an American Airlines jet carrying 64 people – 60 passengers and four crew members – collided with a US army Black Hawk helicopter with three soldiers onboard while attempting to land at Reagan national airport.

All takeoffs and landings from the airport near the capital were halted as helicopters from law enforcement agencies across the region flew over the scene in search of survivors. According to media reports, rescuers have recovered more than 30 bodies from the river so far, while divers have found one of the plane’s two data recorders, known as black boxes.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Shawn Thew/EPA

💾

© Photograph: Shawn Thew/EPA

American Eagle Flight 5342 crashed into the Potomac River after colliding with an Army helicopter while approaching Reagan National Airport.

© Kent Nishimura for The New York Times

U.S. politicians expressed grief and sympathy on Wednesday night after a passenger plane from Kansas collided with a military helicopter near Reagan National Airport.

An Army Black Hawk helicopter collided midair with an American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, at Reagan National Airport on Wednesday.