Both the captain, Jonathan J. Campos, 34, and co-pilot, Sam Lilley, 28, had been flying for years, according to family and friends.

Daniel Izzo, a retired Navy SEAL master chief, has conducted water rescues after plane crashes and says winter conditions in the Potomac River make the situation even more dangerous. "It always seems like something like this happens at the worst possible time," Izzo said. "It happened at night. It happened in January."

The plane collided with a military helicopter over the Potomac, killing 67 people. The four-member plane crew was based in Charlotte.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport has been closed until at least 11 a.m. Thursday. Several flights out of Florida have already been canceled.

Passengers on the flight included a group of figure skaters, their coaches and family members who were returning from a development camp that followed the U.S.

President Trump said the crash was a "tragedy of terrible proportions" and told family members "Our hearts are shattered alongside yours."

An American Airlines regional jet collided with a military helicopter as it was approaching Reagan National Airport.

The devastating Air Florida Flight 90 crash on Jan. 13, 1982 and subsequent rescue efforts in the ice-covered Potomac River transfixed Washington and the nation

Relatives and loved ones have identified the four crew members on the American Airlines plane that collided with an Army helicopter over Washington, DC, according to reports. The crew on American Airlines Flight 5342 was based in Charlotte Douglas International Airport,

Everyone aboard an American Airlines jet that collided with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington is feared dead, a fire chief said Thursday.

Florida Justice is News4JAX’s true crime documentary series hosted by Morning Show anchor and I-Team reporter Jennifer Waugh