No known survivors after American Airlines jet and Army helicopter collide over D.C.

• "At this point, we don't believe there are any survivors from this accident, and we have recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter," Donnelly added.
• Remnants of the two aircrafts have been discovered, including the fuselage of the American Airlines plane, which was found in three sections, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said at a press briefing Thursday morning.

State of play: Duffy added that the U.S. still "absolutely" had the safest airspace in the world.

• The cause of the crash is still under investigation. "Something went wrong here," Duffy acknowledged, though he stressed that both aircrafts' flight paths in the lead up to the collision were standard for the D.C. airspace and that there hadn't been a communication breakdown.
• A little over 14 hours after the collision, the airport can "safely" reopen at 11am, said Jack Potter, head of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

The big picture: The American Eagle Flight 5342 was en route from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington, D.C., with 60 passengers and four crew members on board, per a statement on American Airlines' website about the incident involving its subsidiary airline.

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared a statement on X just after midnight Thursday from a Defense Department spokesperson saying the U.S. Army UH-60 helicopter was on a training exercise out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia, when the incident happened.

Zoom in: The collision prompted a ground stop and Reagan Washington National Airport said on X all takeoffs and landings had been "halted at DCA."

• A figure skating group said on X that skaters, coaches and their families were on the flight following the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Telegram that Russian figure skaters and other citizens were on board.

What they're saying: President Trump thanked first responders in an emailed statement late Wednesday and said that he'd been "fully briefed on the terrible accident," adding: "May God Bless their souls."

• Trump made clear on Truth Social early Thursday that he's seeking answers on how the collision happened, saying: "This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented."

What we're watching: Donnelly said at the early Thursday morning briefing some 300 responders were at the scene, where temperatures were expected to be below freezing overnight.

• Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on X her department was "deploying every available" U.S. Coast Guard resource for search and rescue efforts.
• The Federal Aviation Administration said it would investigate the incident alongside the National Transportation Safety Board, with the latter leading the probe.

Background: Reagan Washington National Airport is owned by the federal government and operated by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which serves the D.C. metropolitan area.

• The airport, touted as having the "busiest runway in America," is an American Airlines hub that provides nonstop flights to 102 domestic destinations and six international destinations, per the airport's website.

Flashback: Wednesday's collision is the worst air tragedy in the D.C. area since the Air Florida Flight 90 crash on Jan. 13, 1982.

• The plane crashed into the 14th Street Bridge after take off from Reagan Washington National Airport, killing 70 passengers, four crew members and four people in vehicles on the bridge over the Potomac River.

Go deeper: In photos: Crews search Potomac River after air crash near Reagan airport

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.