Washington DC plane crash (Part 1)

An American Airlines flight was in the process of landing at the Reagan Washington National Airport when it collided with the military aircraft, resulting in a separation into three distinct pieces.

An exceptionally complex search and rescue procedure has not yielded any survivors following a plane passenger's collision with a military helicopter in Washington DC.

It has been reported that both aircraft have collided and crashed into the Potomac River, and the rescue teams are currently conducting the investigation at the site in challenging conditions.

The incident involved a PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ701 twin-engine regional jet and a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter, as confirmed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The aircraft was a flight from American Eagle, Flight 5342, operated by PSA, and was enroute from Wichita, Kansas, to Reagan Washington National Airport. American Eagle is a regional airline brand owned by American Airlines.

The other aircraft was a US Army helicopter - a UH-60 Black Hawk based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia - which was on a training flight.

A few minutes before landing, air traffic controllers asked the American Airlines flight if it could land on the shorter Runway 33 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and the pilots said they were able.

Controllers then cleared the plane to land on Runway 33. Seconds later, the airliner was on approach to the runway when the collision with the helicopter happened.

CCTV footage reveals a brief illumination of the sky at 8.47 pm local time, suggesting the moment of the aircraft's collision and burst into flames.

Flight tracking information, based on data transmitted by the Bombardier plane's radio transponder, reveals it was at an altitude of about 400ft and a speed of about 140mph when it suffered a rapid loss of altitude over the Potomac River.

Within minutes, the controllers began redirecting other planes in the region.