Residents and visitors were told to not touch or remove debris from the Potomac River, as the investigation into the midair D.C. plane crash remains ongoing.

A fter an American Airlines small eagle plane coming from Wichita, Kansas collided with a military helicopter midair before crashing into the Potomac River near D.C.'s Reagan Nati

Wednesday’s fatal collision and two other incidents dramatically illustrate the challenges pilots and air traffic controllers face in the complex, security-sensitive skies above the nation’s capital.

We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” said John Donnelly, the fire chief in the nation’s capital.

Officials say the conditions of the Potomac River are complicating recovery efforts of the bodies of the 67 presumed dead in a mid-air collision between American Airlines flight 5342 from Wichita and a military Black Hawk helicopter.

Officials are set to hold a press conference at 7:30 a.m. during which more information about survivors and fatalities will be released.

No survivors found in crash between Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines jet over Potomac River near DC

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that “there was some sort of elevation issue” with the Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided in mid-air with a passenger airliner Wednesday night over the Potomac River that is now being investigated.

A plane collided in midair with a helicopter approaching Reagan Washington National Airport, near the Potomac River, Wednesday night, officials set. A rescue operation was underway, officials said. Multiple 911 callers reported the crash near the river just before 8:55 p.

The catastrophe immediately raised questions about the close proximity in which helicopters and jetliners soar over the busy skies of the nation’s capital.

A view of emergency response to Wednesday night’s fatal crash of a passenger jet landing at Reagan National Airport and an Army helicopter. The body of the plane was found upside-down in three sections in waist-deep water in the Potomac River.

Several of the passengers and crew aboard an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter were identified and a black box was recovered on Thursday.