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

An American Airlines plane carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter outside Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. Wednesday night. A D.C. fire official said Thursday that “we don't think there are any survivors from this accident" and "we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation.

An FAA official told Reuters that the agency is closing access to parts of the two helicopter routes near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport