The midair collision Wednesday night between a regional American Airlines passenger jet and a Black Hawk military helicopter over the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., was "absolutely" preventable,

Sixty passengers and four crew members from the plane and three Black Hawk helicopter personnel are feared dead as a recovery mission is underway.

A commercial plane with 60 passengers and four crew members on board collided with a military helicopter with a crew of three near Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night.