Aviation experts have warned for years about near collisions at airports around the US, citing air traffic control shortages and airspace congestion.
The married couple, won the world championships in pairs figure skating in 1994, had reportedly lived in the US since at least 1998.
United CEO Scott Kirby diminished American in comments on Wednesday. American CEO Robert Isom barely responded during American's earnings call.
United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and several other U.S.-based carriers have all given investors strong forecasts for the year.
"Just the horror that the parents are going through. It just that blows me away. It makes me so sad for the families," said Joanne Kispert, 74, whose father died in the 2001 crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in New York in 2001.
“While performing a training mission a United States Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from Bravo Company, 12th Aviation Battalion, Davison Army Airfield, Fort Belvoir, Va., collided in midair with an American Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet Flight 5342 last night at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport," he said.
Wednesday night’s crash of an American Airlines commuter plane in Washington could be one of the worst disasters for the Fort Worth-based airline in more than two decades.
The flight appeared to collide with a helicopter just before it was scheduled to land. This is a developing story and will be updated.
The Black Hawk is a US Army workhorse helicopter. It has been flying for decades. One tragically collided with a passenger jet this week.
A regional American Airlines passenger jet and a Black Hawk military helicopter collided over Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night in the nation's first major commercial airline crash since 2009. There are confirmed fatalities from the collision,
The number of people onboard and any fatalities is unknown at this time. The plane can carry up to 65 passengers and four crew members.