Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport (DCA) remained shut down on Thursday morning after an American Airways regional jet fatally collided mid-air with a army helicopter simply exterior the airport on Wednesday evening. As of early Thursday morning, greater than 500 flights had been canceled out and in of DCA, according to flight tracker FlightAware.

All flights have been halted on the Washington, D.C.-area airport and are not anticipated to renew till at the very least 11 a.m. on Thursday, according to the airport. The airport’s terminals stay open.

“All airport roads and terminals are open,” the airport wrote in a post on X, previously generally known as Twitter. “Some flights have been delayed or cancelled, so passengers are inspired to examine with their airline for particular flight info.”

The incident occurred at about 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday when American Eagle Flight 5342 collided midair whereas making an attempt to land on the airport with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter, according to the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA). The flight was operated on a Bombardier CRJ700 plane by regional provider PSA Airways, wholly owned by American, and was headed from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington, D.C.

There have been 60 passengers and 4 crew members on board the American Airlines plane, according to a statement from the carrier. The Associated Press reviews {that a} army helicopter, which additionally had a number of passengers on board, was on a coaching flight on the time.

As of Thursday morning, PSA Airways was compelled to cancel greater than 280 flights and American Airways was compelled to cancel an extra 165 flights, in accordance with FlightAware.

“First, and most significantly, I’d like to specific our deep sorrow about these occasions,” Robert Isom, CEO of American Airways, stated in a video deal with posted to the airline’s web site. “It is a troublesome day for all of us at American Airways and our efforts now are targeted fully on the wants of our passengers, crew members, companions, first responders, together with their households and family members.”

The Nationwide Transportation Security Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have launched an investigation into the crash, in accordance with the FAA. Isom stated the airline was “cooperating absolutely” with the investigation and “we wish to be taught every thing we are able to about at the moment’s occasions.”

The our bodies of at the very least 28 folks have been recovered from the frigid Potomac River, and whereas officers are nonetheless trying to find casualties, they don’t look forward to finding any survivors, the AP reported. If true, that will make this the deadliest U.S. air crash in almost 24 years.