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

An American Airlines regional jet went down in the Potomac River near Washington, D.C.'s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after colliding with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night, with no survivors expected.

The helicopter was part of the 12th Aviation Battalion which is on an operational pause following the collision. It will remain so until a review is completed. Officials will look to see if the Black Hawk was in the correct corridor and altitude when it hit the plane, CNN reported.