If changes aren't made, that near-miss becomes a mid-air collision,” one aviation safety expert said. “Unfortunately, that's what we had last night.”

An Army Black Hawk helicopter collided midair with an American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, at Reagan National Airport on Wednesday.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating a midair collision between an American Airlines aircraft (NASDAQ:AAL) and a helicopter in Washington, DC, the United States. "A PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet collided in midair with Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on approach to Runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport

There are confirmed fatalities from the collision of American Airlines Flight 5342 and the U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River. Several bodies have been pulled from the Potomac River crash site, according to two law enforcement sources familiar with the ongoing operation.

The American Airlines regional jet was on the final approach to Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., when it collided midair with a military Black Hawk helicopter shortly before 9 p.m.

Questions remain over the mid-air collision between a jet, which was carrying 64 people, including the crew, and a military helicopter carrying three soldiers