breaking overnight. the fiery mid-air collision over our nation's capital. an american airlines regional jet colliding with an army black hawk helicopter near reagan national airport. the crash sending the plane plunging into the icy waters of

the potomac river. a rescue effort is now under way for the 64 passengers and crew members aboard the jet. that effort complicated by darkness, wind and cold temperatures. many are feared dead. the very latest just ahead. "early today" starts right now. glad you're with me this morning. i'm frances rivera. breaking news from our nation's capital. a regional commercial jet colliding with potomac river in the dark of night. a military official says the helicopter was on a routine training flight. the faa says the collision happened when the commercial flight was approaching a runway at reagan national airport around 9:00 p.m. local time. it was arriving from wichita, kansas. there were about 60 passengers and four crew minimums on the

commercial flight. president ump has bebeen briefed, saying may god bless their souls. rescuers were quickly deployed to search the river for victims. the washington fire chief says over 300 fire responders are working the scene, but the water at the time of the crash was just above freezing. and the conditions are extremely rough. >> the water they were operating in is about 8 feet deep. there is wind. there is pieces of ice out there. so it's just dangerous and hard to work in. and because there's not a lot of lights, you're out there searching every square inch of space to see if you can find anybody. divers are doing the same thing in the water. the water is dark. it is murky. that is a very tough condition for them to dive in. >> the ceo of american airlines says he will be traveling to washington, d.c. soon. in a video message, he shared his deep sorrow for the victims and says the airline is cooperating fully. >> our cooperation is without

pause, and we want to learn everything we can about today's events. that work will take time, but anything we can do now we're doing. we know that many people will be concerned for the welfare of their loved ones, and we've set up a special help line friends and family can call at 1-800-679-8215. that's 1-800-679-8215. if you believe you've had friends or family on board american eagle flight 5342. >> let's turn to derrick rumback who has been at the scene throughout the night. what have you been hearing about the search effort? >> reporter: hey, there frances. you may not be able to see me very well. that is intentional. law enforcement has asked us to keep our lights off at our live shot location so it wouldn't hamper their search efforts behind me. i do want to give you a look at what this looks like now on the potomac river. you see those flashing red and white and blue lights.

that is law enforcement over what we call haines point. it's a popular public golf course here in the washington, d.c. area. that's one of their staging areas right now where thnobles . stand by. from nbc news, this is a special report. here's savannah guthrie and craig melvin. let's get an update now on this midair collision outside of washington, d.c. mayor muriel bowser about to groat greet the press. search and rescuers continue to comb the icy waters of the potomac looking for any hope. 67 people onboard that regional jet, the american airlines jet, flying from wichita, kansas, into washington. it was hit by a black hawk helicopter. >> good morning. >> about 9:00 last night. >> i'm muriel bowser, the mayor of washington, d.c. we are here at reagan national airport to provide an update on the tragic events of last night.

i'm joined by u.s. transportation secretary shawn duffy, d.c. fire and ems chief john donnelly, american airlines ceo robert isom, metropolitan washington airport authority ceo jack carter, united states senator mark warner, united states senator tim kaine, u.s. representative don beyer, as well as the metropolitan police department, pamela smith, and we are joined by first responders from across the metropolitan washington region. i speak for all of us when i say, and certainly all washingtonians, how very sad we are for american airlines, for the united states department of defense, and for all americans for the loss of life that happened with the collision of

these aircraft. we know that includes families from across our region as well as in kansas and across the country. this morning we all share a profound sense of grief. i do want to thank the first responders who acted quickly last night, who ran towards danger, went into a very frigid river, and have worked throughout the night. chief donnelly reported in last night's briefing that we have a strong mutual aid agreement in our region, and those teams have worked together throughout the night in really tough and heartbreaking conditions. we should all thank them for their heroic efforts. so we'll ha several updates today. i'm first going to turn to the secretary of transportation, shawn duffy, and then you will hear directly from chief john donnelly with a situational update.

>> thank you, mayor. again, shawn duffy here, secretary of transportation. we wish we were gathering for different purposes today.ean du secretary of transportation. we wish we were gathering for different purposes today. the department of transportation, the faa, along with the white house, president trump, local, state, and federal partners all working together on this incident in unison. i couldn't be prouder of this team that's been assembled working tirelessly. mayor, i want to thank you, specifically, for your work. a few details i would like to give all of you, and some of you reported this, but last night, if you live in the d.c. area, you would know this was a clear night last night. the helicopter was in a standard pattern. if you live in the d.c. area, you'll see helicopters up and down the river. this flight pattern is seen oftentimes when you live in d.c. this was a standard flight pattern last night as well. the american airlines flight

coming in to land was in a standard flight pattern as it was coming in to dca. so this was not unusual with the military aircraft flying the river and aircraft landing at dca. and, again, if you live in the area, you'll see that frequently with those two aiaircraft wking together. as many of you have reported, we have located the two aircrafts. 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 will 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 of the

information we have to get the best results possible for the american people. i would just say that safety is our expectation. everyone who flies in american skies expects that we fly safely, that when you depart an airport, you get to your destination. that didn't happen last night. and i know that president trump, his administration, the faa, the d.o.t., we will not rest until we have answers for the families and for the flying public. you should be assured that when you fly, you're safe. thank you. >> thank you, secretary. thank you, mayor. i'm joined today with fire chief bonnet from the metropolitan airport authority and i'm john donnelly, chief of the fire and ems department.

last night at 8:48 the control tower sounded an alert which alerts responders to respond to a report of an aircraft crash on or near the airport. that sets off an immediate response from airport authority department, from the district of columbia and metropolitan harbor patrol fire boats and other fireboats on the river in order to support that type of operation. very quickly, this call escalated. it became apparent -- you know, the responders realized that they had a plane crash and immediately escalated to a response that ultimately included about 300 people last night. these responders found extremely frigid conditions. they found heavy wind. they found ice on the water, and they operated all night in those conditions. i would like to take a moment to acknowledge the agencies that responded in addition to d.c. fire and ems in the washington metropolitan airport authority. montgomery fire department, the

prince george's county fire department, the baltimore county police department, the anne arundel county fire department, the alexandria fire department, the arlington county fire department, the fairfax fire department, the prince william fire department, the baltimore city police department, the maryland state police, the maryland natural resources police, the department of defense, the joint base bowling fire department and the staff there, the u.s. army, the u.s. coast guard, the united states park police, the metropolitan police department, the fbi and despite all those efforts, we are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. 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.

the district office of the medical examiner has lead on reuniting these bodies and these people with their loved ones, and we will continue to work to find all the bodies and collect them and reunite them with their loved ones. we should also acknowledge that the virginia medical examiner and the army medical examiner are involved in this operation in a very important part of getting people identified. >> our hearts are certainly with all of the crew of american airlines and we'll hear from ceo isom. >> thank you, mayor. good morning. i'm robert isom, the ceo of american airlines. i want to express my sincere condolences for the accident that happened at dca last night. we're absolutely heartbroken for

the family and loved ones of the passengers and crew members and also for those that were on the military aircraft. our focus right now is doing everything that we can to support all of those involved and also the psa air lines team. this is devastating. we are all hurting incredibly. we urge any family and friends looking for information about their loved ones to call our designated help line, and that's 1-800-679-8215. 1-800-679-8215. here's what i can share at this early stage, american eagle flight 5342 operated by psa airlines traveling from wichita, kansas, to reagan national airport, was involved in an accident just before 9:00 p.m.

local time on final approach into reagan national. it collided with a military aircraft on an otherwise normal approach and at this time we don't know why the military aircraft came into the path of the psa aircraft. flight 5342, a crj-700, was under the command of four crew members that carried 60 passengers, as you know, for a total it have of 64 people onbo. american airlines has activated our care team, a group of specialists to support these types of responses. these team members are on site or arriving soon. additionally, we have members of our go team that are on the ground here in d.c., and they're being deployed with resources to do everything that we can to take care of the needs of the families and the loved ones of the passengers and crew members,

and that is our sole focus. we're so grateful for the first responders. they've been working through the night. courageous efforts. we're actively working with local, state, and federal authorities on emergency response efforts and closely coordinating with psa airlines as they cooperate fully with the ntsb on the investigation. i know that there are many questions at this early stage. i won't be able to answer many, but we'll provide additional information as it comes. thank you. >> i want to introduce the metropolitan washington airport authority ceo jack carter, the authority manages washington at reagan washington national and dulles international. >> good morning and thank you, mayor. first, let me begin by expressing our condolences for all the victims of this flight

and for their families. there's a lot of grieving going on, and so we're very sympathetic to that. i want to echo what was said about the first responders. when there's a problem in this area, everybody drops everything and they rush to where the problem is, so i want to thank the chief, the entire team from washington, d.c., but, just as important, the list of folks that the chief described, the federal authorities have been here en masse, and so a lot of effort was brought to bear. unfortunately, we weren't able to rescue anyone, but we are in the recovery mode right now, and i just want to -- you know, last night i expressed the fact we hoped to open at 11:00 today and that is still the case. we're going to open the airport at 11:00 and, again, condolences to the families and thanks to the many, many who are still out

there working very, very hard to complete this recovery. thank you, mayor. >> i do want to acknowledge the virginia transportation secretary is here in addition to the alexandria mayor, and i would like to ask members of the virginia congressional delegation to the podium next. u.s. senator mark warner followed by tim kaine and representative don beyer. >> thank you, mayor. i want to join with everyone else and express my condolences for the victims. for folks who don't live in the dmv, we are made up of a lot of jurisdictions. reagan airport is in virginia. across the river we have maryland, obviously the district, but as has been indicated by the chief, when

tragedy happens, all those distinctions all disappear. and i want to, again, thank all the first responders. on a personal note, i will just add that literally i now know i was coming back from the district from a dinner to my home in old town, alexandria. and while i did not see the collision, i wondered -- i had never seen this many red lights streaming towards the airport and across the river in maryland about this time. my phone started blowing up and i realized this accident had taken place. there will be a time to figure out -- ntsb will have a briefing later in the day, but to the victims, our condolences. to the first responders, our thanks. >> the sorrow, thanks and

questions. sorrow, as all have express ltd to -- expressed to the crew, the passengers, the families, loved ones, to people who are still trying to get information and unsure whether their loved ones have been lost, we offer our profound condolences to them and our sorrow for this tragedy. thanks, i'll echo, mayor, what you began with when you see a challenge like this and you see people from so many different agencies, local, state, federal, with different uniforms, different badges, but working in suchl such a coordinated way in the midst of a tragedy it gives you a sense of pride in people's willingness to come to the danger and work together, and i started to see that as a local official in richmond and definitely have seen it here. and then finally questions. there are going to be a lot of questions, obviously. a lot of questions. and that's what the ntsb's job is. an independent investigator of

incidents like this and we were in dialogue with them earlier today. they've been here since they got the alert and they will be doing the work and playing lead in answering the many questions we have. it's not a time to speculate. it's a time to investigate and get answers to the questions we need, and i have confidence that will be done. thank you. >> following up on the senator, i think grief, thanks, and service. with millions and millions of americans traveling every year, we are all grieving knowing that it could have been our loved ones, it could have been us, and our hearts go out to all of those who have lost folks. in the most partisan place, also, i'm really thankful that democrats and republicans, people from all over, have come together to try to make sure that people are served. as a local representative, i want the families to know that our office is available to serve you in any way we possibly can

through this time of grief and transition and loss. and that also just note that we're deeply grateful for the people who risked their lives last night on a moment's notice and spent the whole night on the river in the ice and the wind, serving us. and then, finally, as senator kaine and senator warner noted, the ntsb and the investigation, we have to make sure that at the federal level and with the support of virginia, maryland and d.c., we're doing everything we can to make sure this does not happen again. so, with that, it's been said already that the national transportation safety board becomes the lead agency in the investigation. our jurisdiction in d.c. where the crash occurred over the

river is -- concludes as we -- in the leadership role as unified command as we shift to a recovery effort. we expect the national transportation safety board to provide briefings to the press later in the day. so, at this point, we can take a few questions. yes? >> can you say without a shadow of a doubt, people are safe to fly? >> what we're talking -- what we can talk about today is what happened here with the collision of these vehicles. we said what we know and that the national transportation safety board continues to investigate. i don't know that any of us have been briefed on anything that would suggest any other aircraft are implicated. yes? >> you're still missing 30-plus people in the water. what are some of the challenges in recovering them right now? >> chief? >> so the rescue operation -- or

the recovery operation goes on, it's a lolot of touch and feel the plane and the helicopter, and the crash area is a little spread out, so we have some work to do. and i think it's pretty normal type of situation. i don't think it's extraordinary. >> how spread out is this debris field? >> so the wind started blowing last night so we've had debris travel down as far as the wilson bridge. >> how far is that? >> i couldn't tell you. less than a mile. >> i have a question for ceo potter. you're going to open the airport at 11:00 this morning? how are you going to do that and what affect on operations, on passengers, on people's anxiety? how are we going to do this? >> well, we're going to open the airport at 11:00. it's safe. we've worked with all the federal agencies, the faa, and, you know, it's been determined that we can open that airport

safely. the recovery effort that's on our property is on the waterfront. our primary runway, 119, will be open. it's away from any activity. we're going to have a secure area around that, so all are comfortable that we can get back to operations. now each airline will announce or communicate to their passengers what their operations are going to be. obviously their networks were disrupted overnight. we might have a slow recovery, but the bottom line is, we will begin to have aircraft moving out of this airport at 11:00. >> okay. >> flight recorders have been recovere >> i don't think we can say anything about what's in the ntsb's purview. >> you mentioned the airport opens three hours from now. there's a lot of helicopter traffic from the military, u.s. park police. will helicopters be flying right

recovery efforts?ell beyond the >> i don't know the answer to that, jack, do you have anything to add? we don't have anything to add about that. yes? >> this is for secretary duffy. can you reassure americans the u.s. still has the safest airspace in the world? >> the question is, can i guarantee the american flying public that the united states has the most safe and secure airspace in the world, and the answer to that is, absolutely, yes, we do. we have early indicators of what happened here, and i will tell you with complete confidence we have the safest airspace in the world. >> when it comes to informing these families who tragically lost their loved ones, what does that look like so far? have any of them been involved? the flight manifest, any details you can provide on that front? >> all i can say is that we have

published the 1-800 number. we have family assistance centers set up here in dca. we do in wichita as well. i'm not at liberty to give the number of families at have been -- that have used those services. but we are making that use. we have over 100 team members that are either here or on their way that are specially trained to work with family members, handle travel arrangements, hotel arrangements, incidentals, to make sure that we're taking care of people in any way that they can. as our teams are hurting and suffering, as our passengers and their families need assistance, we're doing everything we can. i don't ha any other more information on that right now. >> chief donnelly, can i ask you to describe the next phase of the investigation? how confident are you you'll be able to recover all 67 of the bodies, and can you speak to

some of the debris that's also being pulled out of the river? we understand there are some suitcases, you know, some other things that have been pulled out from the river. and i would like to ask anyone here, perhaps the transportation secretary or mr. isom, if we know anything about the victims' age ranges, nationalities, anything of that nature? >> the next phase of this operation is going to be led by the ntsb. all of us are working together, though, to search the area and find the victims. i'm confident that we will do that and that will take us a limb bit of time, though, and may involve some more equipment. as far as the things being collected, i don't have personal knowledge. i know that we have been collecting debris that you would expect to see from a plane. >> anything about the victims? >> so the question is about the victims. the ntsb is going to lead that portion of the contact with the victims. i believe american will be

inlved with that as well and so will the faa and the department of transportation. >> secretary duffy -- >> take some questions over here, one, two, three, four. >> secretary duffy, the flight path that the helicopter was on, is that a common flight path? and is it normal for helicopters to get clearance to cut across busy push paths? >> i don't know if you could hear the question, it's a question about the flight path of the helicopter. i don't want to go into too much detail about the information we have from the faa, but obviously it is not standard to have aircraft collide. i want to be clear on that. but, prior to the collision, the flight paths that were being flown from the military and from american, that was not unusual for what happens in the d.c. airspace, and as this investigation moves forward we will be able to provide more

information to you about the details of that statement. >> i wanted to follow up on that question regarding the flight path. you said it's standard. so can you speak to the conversations with air traffic control, were there blind spots here? >> so the question is were there blind spots with air traffic control. i don't want to make statements about that. again, i think whether it was air traffic control, whether it was military aircraft, helicopters or the american flight, everything was standard in the leadup to the crash. now obviously something happened here. you'll get more information and more details as this investigation moves forward. we'll learn what happened, but, again, those who live in the d.c. area, we see military helicopters fly up and down the river. it's a standard path that they

fly. they're used to aircraft landing at dca, and there's a procedure in place -- because this happens every day. something went wrong here. i look forward to the time and point when we can give you that information, but i don't want to >> senator kaine, senator warner, you have been vocal about your concerns about busy runways here, air traffic. i know it's still early in the investigation. i'm just curious -- >> e have raise this had issue continuously. we have a very busy airspace. i think we will ask think we wi but at the appropriate time. we are in this period right now where families are still l bein notified about our concerns, but it is a good time to speculate right now. we have faith that the ntsb will provide the answers about this. okay. you work here and i'm going to takehr