The midair collision Wednesday night between a regional American Airlines passenger jet and a Black Hawk military helicopter over the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., was "absolutely" preventable,

Sixty passengers and four crew members from the plane and three Black Hawk helicopter personnel are feared dead as a recovery mission is underway.

The soldiers on the helicopter that collided with an American Airlines jet on Wednesday night were from the 12th Combat Aviation Battalion based in Virginia.