By Trevor Hunnicutt, David Shepardson and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Scores of people are feared dead after an American Airlines regional passenger jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided and crashed into the frigid Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night,

The American Airlines flight was carrying 64 people when it collided with a Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport.

While driving home, Ari Shulman said a "spray of sparks" in the sky caught his attention as he watched in horror the midair collision unfold.

By David Shepardson, Trevor Hunnicutt and Brad Brooks WASHINGTON (Reuters) -An American Airlines regional passenger jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed into the frigid Potomac River after a midair collision near Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night,

The crash and rescue on the icy river connecting Washington, DC and Virginia had similarities to this one. Five of the 79 aboard the flight survived.

An American Eagle flight and a military helicopter collided over the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport Wednesday night.

American Eagle Flight 5342 en route from Wichita, Kansas (ICT), to Washington, D.C. (DCA) was involved in an accident at DCA,” the airline said in a statement.

The NTSB released new information about the collision between the American Airlines passenger jet and an army helicopter at Reagan Washington National Airport. The disaster was caught on tape, we want to warn you the video is disturbing.

An American Airlines flight crashed into a U.S. Army Black Hawk Helicopter over the Potomac River as it approached Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

CBS News Miami's Chelsea Jones spoke with South Florida flyers who were traveling at the time of the collision.

Residents and visitors were told to not touch or remove debris from the Potomac River, as the investigation into the midair D.C. plane crash remains ongoing.

Darkness has now fallen once again over the Potomac River making this already difficult recovery mission more challenging. Boats remain in the water at this hour and we're told about 50 members of the NTSB are out.