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.”

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

Chief John Donnelly, DC Fire and EMS said the mission has switched from a rescue to a recovery. They have recovered 27 bodies from the American Airlines flight and one from the helicopter. Donnelly said there were no survivors. Officials from area medical examiner offices are working to identify those killed in the crash.

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.

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.

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.

There is at least one casualty after a helicopter crash at a major airport tonight. All runways have been shutdown and all departures and landings have been halted at the DCA Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

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.

As news broke of an American Airlines plane and an Army Black Hawk helicopter colliding above Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Wednesday night, politicians and officials took to social media to offer concerns and prayers for the victims.

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

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,