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.

""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 Potomac River,

An airplane collided with a helicopter while trying to land at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night, officials said.

Ari Schulman told NBC Washington that he saw the plane crash while driving on the George Washington Parkway, which runs along the airport. He said the plane's approach looked normal, until he saw the aircraft bank hard to the right, with "streams of sparks" running underneath, illuminating its belly.

The crash near Reagan National Airport has renewed questions about the airport's flight load, considering its small size, among other issues.

A jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided Wednesday with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is closed, according to an FAA alert posted Wednesday night. A ground stop will prevent planes from landing at the airport through at least 5 a.m. Thursday morning,

The Associated Press is providing live video of the scene of the plane crash near Washington’s Reagan Airport:

A preliminary safety report from the Federal Aviation Administration reportedly found that air traffic control staffing was abnormally low at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 29, according to The New York Times, which obtained a copy of the report.

A passenger jet has collided with a helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington.

Multiple fatalities have been reported after a horrific incident involving American Airlines flight 5342 and a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter over