Authorities issue update on American Airlines plane crash as operation switches from rescue to recovery

An American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided last night with an army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington DC.

The crash prompted a large search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River, with around 300 emergency service workers rushing to the scene.

There were multiple fatalities, according to a person familiar with the matter, but the precise number of victims was unclear as rescue crews hunted for any survivors.

So far, 28 bodies have been recovered from the river that both the chopper and plane crashed into following the collision.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and the army chopper, but all take-offs and landings from the airport were halted as dive teams scoured the site and helicopters from law enforcement agencies across the region flew over the scene in a methodical search for bodies.

Images from the river showed boats around the partly submerged wing and what appeared to be the mangled wreckage of the plane’s fuselage.

Parts of the American Airlines plane are now visible in the Potomac River (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

What was first seen as a rescue mission is now seen as a recovery mission in light of it being presumed that there are no survivors.

"We are now at a point where we’re switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation," DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said during a sombre news conference on Thursday (January 30).

"At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident."

Elsewhere, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said the wreckage of the American Airlines plane is in three parts.

Around 300 emergency personnel rushed to the crash site last night (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

He said, as per CNN: "The fuselage of the American Airlines plane was inverted. It’s been located in three different sections. It’s in about waist-deep water, so that recovery is going to go on today."

"As that recovery takes place of the fuselage of the aircraft, NTSB is going to start to analyze that aircraft, partner with the FAA with all the information we have to get the best results possible for the American people," Duffy added.

Duffy also said that both aircrafts were on 'standard flightpaths' before the collision and that it's 'not unusual with a military aircraft flying the river and aircraft landing at DCA'.

Anyone who thinks they may know someone that was onboard Flight 5342 have been urged to call American Airlines toll-free at 800-679-8215.

If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact GrieveWell on (734) 975-0238, or email [email protected].