It appears that the first major air disaster in the U.S. since 2009 has occurred while the Federal Aviation Administration does not have a permanent leader.

President Donald Trump has begun his second administration with a series of controversial moves and decisions.

Officials believe there are no survivors after a passenger plane on approach to Reagan National Airport near Washington, DC, collided Wednesday night with a US Army helicopter midair, sending both aircraft into the Potomac River below,

Before the additional flights were approved, a senator warned that the increase could heighten the risk of collisions.

Several members' of the U.S. Figure Skating team were onboard the American Airlines plane that collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk Helicopter over Washington, D.C., the governing body said in a statement.

Ari Schulman told NBC Washington that he saw the plane crash while driving on the George Washington Parkway, which runs along the airport. He said the plane's approach looked normal, until he saw the aircraft bank hard to the right, with "streams of sparks" running underneath, illuminating its belly.

A regional jet that had departed from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a military helicopter on a training flight while on approach to an airport runway.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he was appointing an acting Federal Aviation Administration administrator, Chris Rocheleau.

Donald Trump has confirmed there are no survivors of a mid-air collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a helicopter above Washington DC. But he also sought to exploit the crash politically as he attacked diversity hiring and Joe Biden.

The collision involved a Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet operated by PSA Airlines and a military Black Hawk helicopter.