The midair collision Wednesday night between a regional American Airlines passenger jet and a Black Hawk military helicopter over the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., was "absolutely" preventable,

The FAA and NTSB have launched an investigation into how an American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter over the Potomac River.

A commercial plane with 60 passengers and four crew members on board collided with a military helicopter with a crew of three near Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night.