American Airlines plane crash: Dozens feared dead after collision with Black Hawk helicopter in Washington DC

An American Airlines passenger jet with 64 people on board has crashed midair into a military helicopter while attempting to land at Reagan National Airport in Washington.

Emergency services in the city are searching the nearby Potomac River after the jet plummeted into the water just before 9pm on Wednesday night.

Officials have not said how many people died in the accident but have suggested that there may be no survivors. It is the first major commercial air crash in the US in 16 years.