Investigators analyze flight data to understand the crash between an American Airlines jet and a military helicopter and exactly what was going on before disaster struck.

A preliminary safety report from the Federal Aviation Administration reportedly found that air traffic control staffing was abnormally low at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 29, according to The New York Times, which obtained a copy of the report.

The report, reviewed by The New York Times, said that one controller was communicating with both helicopters and planes. Those jobs are typically assigned to two people, not one.

Political leaders had warned about the dangers of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C. months before an American Airlines flight collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on its approach to the airport.

There was no immediate word on casualties, but all takeoffs and landings from the airport near Washington have been halted.

A small aircraft is down in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and fireboats were on the scene, the Washington fire department said. The airport said late on Wednesday that all takeoffs and landings were halted at the airport as emergency personnel responded to an aircraft incident.

Leaders across the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia region, as well as federal lawmakers, are reacting to the tragic American Airlines plane crash near DCA.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is closed, according to an FAA alert posted Wednesday night. A ground stop will prevent planes from landing at the airport through at least 5 a.m. Thursday morning,

David Freeman caught a flight to International Airport on Thursday from Reagan National Airport after a American Airlines jet collided with a military helicopter over the Potomac River on Wednesday night.

According to the Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport website, three American Airlines flights between DCA and BTV were canceled for Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

Multiple fatalities have been reported after a horrific incident involving American Airlines flight 5342 and a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter over