An American Airlines plane carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided on Wednesday night (29) with an army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan Airport near Washington, starting a major search and rescue operation on the Potomac River, where the aircraft crashed.

According to an army officer, three soldiers were on board the helicopter.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated that the accident occurred at around 9pm on Wednesday, local time.

The regional airliner from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a military helicopter on a training flight while approaching the runway at the airport in Washington.

A group of figure skaters, their coaches and family members were traveling on the American Airlines plane, according to the U.S. Figure Skating Federation, adding that the group was returning from an event in Wichita, Kansas.

Later, on his social network Truth Social, the President said that the collision "should have been avoided".

Rescue teams have already recovered 18 bodies from the crash between an airplane with 64 people on board and a US army helicopter in Washington, according to police sources quoted by CBS television.

Official sources quoted by The Washington Post indicate that the rescue teams have not specified the number of bodies recovered, but that no survivors have been found.

(Photo DR)