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When the American Airlines regional jet and a Black Hawk helicopter crashed in midair Wednesday night, the civilian plane was circling Reagan National Airport preparing to land, just before 9 p.m. E.T.
Investigators say there are likely no survivors in the deadly collision above the icy waters of the Potomac River near the nation's capital.
Reagan National is considered the primary airport for the Washington-metro area and is located in Crystal City, Va. — about 5 miles outside of D.C.
The plane, which was traveling from Wichita, Kan., carried 60 passengers and four crew members. Several of those onboard were elite figure skaters traveling from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships' National Development Camp.
The Black Hawk helicopter was traveling from Fort Belvoir in Virginia, carrying three "experienced" crew members who were conducting a training exercise, according to the Defense Department.
Teams are combing the frigid waters of the Potomac — which bisects the land between D.C. and Virginia — for bodies, in what has now become a recovery mission, rather than a rescue search. As of midday Thursday, authorities said 28 of the likely 67 bodies had been recovered.
Conditions in the Potomac this time of year are brutal, particularly after a recent cold snap in the area left sheets of ice on the dark water that runs about eight feet deep.
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