Secretary of Transport Sean Duffy is now answering questions about the flight path of the helicopter and air traffic control at the time of the incident.

He says he doesn't want to go into too much detail about the information from the Federal Aviation Administration but that prior to the collision, the flight paths of both aircraft were not unusual for DC airspace.

As this investigation moves forward we'll provide more information, he says.

On air traffic control he also says he won't make a statement but adds that everything was standard in the lead up to the crash.

"Obviously something happened," he says, adding that we will learn more as the investigation progresses.

Duffy is also asked about communication between the helicopter, the commercial plane and flight control - he says there was no breakdown in communication between the military helicopter and the American Airline flight.

"The helicopter was aware that there was a plane in the area," he says.

DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly answers the next question, about the size of the debris field.

He says that the wind has caused debris to travel from the airport as far as the Wilson Bridge, which he says is less than a mile away.

Answering another question on the next phase of the operation - which he confirms will be led by the National Transportation Safety Board - he says "all of us are working together to search the area and find all [the] victims."

"That will take us a little bit of time and we may need more equipment," he adds, specifically as it relates to collecting the debris from the crash.

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser takes the first question from the media, with a reporter asking if the DC official can say if it's safe to fly.

Bowser says that what she can talk about today is the specific crash and that the National Transportation Safety Board is going to continue to investigate the situation.

She adds that she doesn't believe anyone of us has been briefed on anything that would suggest any other aircraft is implicated.

Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority president Jack Potter also stresses that the airport is safe to reopen at 11:00 and that the runway is operating away from the ongoing recovery operations.

He adds that airlines will communicate with their passengers about their travel.

Image source, Reuters

We're hearing from a couple of senators now, one of whom is Senator Tim Kaine.

He says that there will be a lot of questions, which is the National Transportation Safety Board's, (NTSB) job to investigate.

It's not a time to speculate, but a time to investigate Kaine says, before adding that he is confident this will be done.

Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority president Jack Potter says the Ronald Reagan National Airport will open at 11:00 local time (16:00 GMT) today.

Image source, Reuters

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom is now addressing the crowd gathered at the airport.

"This is devastating" Isom says, extending his condolences to everyone involved.

"Our focus right now is to do everything we can to support everyone involved," he adds, saying that families and friends looking for information about their loved ones can call the helpline (1-800-679-8125) that's been set up.

Isom explains again the details of the crash and reiterates that the American Airlines flight descended "in normal approach" to Reagan National Airport.

At this time we don't know why it collided with the helicopter, Isom says.

He again confirms that there were 64 people travelling on board the flight - four crew members and 60 passengers.

Donnelly continues as he names and thanks the agencies involved in the search and rescue operation for their work.

However, he says that despite these groups' efforts, they are now switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation.

"We don't believe there are any survivors from this accident," he says.

He adds that his teams have recovered 27 bodies from the plane, and one from the helicopter.

Image source, Reuters

DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly is up next and says that last night at 20:48 local time (01:48 GMT) the control tower sounded an alert which alerts responders to a report of an aircraft crash.

He says that set off an immediate response.

Donnelly says that very quickly this call escalated and responders realised the extent of the crash and responded with 300 people.

These responders found frigid conditions, heavy wind, ice on the water and operated all night, he says.

Image source, Reuters

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy is now speaking.

He says the recovery mission is a joint effort, with the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Transportation, President Donald Trump and local and state partners all working together in unison

Duffy outlines how people in DC would've noticed last night that conditions were "clear".

Both the helicopter and the flight were flying in a "standard pattern", he says.

Neither the American Airlines flight nor the military helicopter were in an "unusual pattern".

Duffy says that they have located the two aircrafts, and the fuselage of American Airlines craft was inverted and located in three different sections. It is beneath waist-deep water and recovery of it will continue throughout the day.

Image source, Reuters

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser is the first to address reporters.

She begins by expressing her sadness for American Airlines, for the US defence department and for all Americans for "the loss of life that happened with the collision of these aircraft".

This includes, she says, families in Washington as well as Kansas and the mayor thanks responders for their efforts.

She says teams have been working through the night in "tough and heart-breaking conditions" adding "we should all thank them for their heroic efforts".

We're about to hear from officials for the second time since the fatal air crash took place last night in Washington DC.

Earlier on this morning, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser described the search and rescue operation that is under way - we expect an update from her on this.

We'll bring you updates here, and you can also listen to what they have to say by pressing watch live at the top of the page.

Jasmine Boykin
Reporting from Reagan National Airport

As the sun begins to rise in Washington, so does the anticipation.

Moments ago, it was silent in Terminal 1 at Reagan National Airport with even a whisper seemingly too loud.

But with less than 10 minutes until we hear from local officials on what took place last night, the terminal is buzzing.

People are slowly starting to set up the podium and test microphones for DC’s Mayor Muriel Bowser to share the latest details on the search and rescue operation.

As we just noted, our US partner CBS has reported at least 30 bodies have been recovered from the scene. However, plenty of questions still remain.

You can watch the press conference live from 07:30 local time (12:30 GMT) by clicking Watch live at the top of the page.

Stick with us and we'll bring you the latest.

A few more details are coming in from the BBC's partner in the US, CBS.

As we've just reported, at least 30 bodies were recovered by 06:45 local time (11:45 GMT).

We've now also learned that one thing investigators are looking at is why the helicopter was flying at that location and altitude before the moment of the crash.

Emergency responders have recovered at least 30 bodies from the crash scene, BBC's US partner CBS reports.

Ana Faguy
US Reporter

US and Russian figure skaters were among the passengers on board the flight.

"Several" athletes, coaches and family members involved with US Figure Skating were on the flight, the sport's US governing body said in a statement.

Russian citizens were also on board, the Kremlin confirmed - after local media reported that ice skating coaches and former world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were on the plane.

Inna Volyanskaya, a former skater for the Soviet Union, was also on board the flight, according to Russian state news agency Tass.

We don't know the names of any US figure skaters who were on board.

As many as 15 people on the flight may have been involved in figure skating, an unnamed source told the Reuters news agency.

Read more here.

Adam Durbin
Live reporter

To give you a sense of just how difficult a search operation like this is, I have just reached the very end of East Potomac Park, where the Potomac meets the Anacostia River.

There are huge pieces of ice floating in the water as far as I can see in the pre-dawn light.

A police officer has approached me and several other members of the media gathered here to report, asking us to move to another location since we are barely a few hundred metres from the site of the crash.

The aircraft involved in the collision last night were a Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet operated by American Airlines subsidiary PSA Airlines, and a Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter.

Bombardier, formerly Canadair, is a Canadian business aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Montreal.

The American Airlines website says its CRJ700 seats 65 people in total. The flight itself was run by American Eagle, a regional network, which consists of six regional carriers and partners with American Airlines.

The US Army UH-60 Black Hawk is built by Sikorsky Aircraft, part of the defence manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

It is powered by twin turbine engines and can carry up to 12 fully equipped, seated troops in combat configuration, according to the manufacturer.

Sikorsky has built more than 5,000 Hawk aircraft for 36 nations worldwide, Lockheed Martin says.

Jasmine Boykin
Reporting from Reagan National Airport

The normal DC commute looked different this morning.

On my way to Reagan National Airport this morning, it was hard not to notice the change in pace in the city. With police and first responder vehicles growing more frequent as I approached closer to the airport, you could tell something was off.

The true scale of the operation was quite evident.

Along my drive in from the neighbouring state of Maryland, there is no doubt the search efforts have grown since the collision took place a few hours ago. Multiple Maryland State Trooper vehicles were driving alongside myself carrying boats heading towards the Potomac River.

While many questions still remain unanswered, there’s no doubt that this is all hands on deck on both the federal and state level.

Adam Durbin
Live reporter

I've just arrived at Hains Point, an area of DC just across the Potomac River from the airport.

Red and blue flashing lights are clearly visible on the water as rescuers search the wreckage and surrounding river.

It's about 4C (39F) and feels colder due to the wind chill, and I can see the impact the temperature is having on the water even in the darkness.

As professionals are combing through the near-freezing water for more victims, they will have almost no visibility due to the gloom and sediment that collects in fresh water so close to the ocean.

A helicopter is lighting the river from above with a huge spotlight. There is a massive rescue operation under way by both air and water.

Sean Dilley
BBC Transport correspondent

Washington’s airspace is intensely busy, playing host to domestic and international traffic flying in and out of Reagan airport and Dulles International.

These two major hubs are within 30 miles of each other – which in aviation terms is a stones-throw.

Mix in Presidential airspace, heavy military traffic and flights around the Pentagon and you have one of the most tightly controlled airspace in the world.

Anyone who’s ever visited DC will know how many low-flying helicopters tour the Potomac – many carry tourists and civilian VIPS, and a great number are operational and military training flights.

The site of the collision is heavily controlled. Passenger airliners must follow fixed flight plans. Unlike in uncontrolled airspace, military pilots operate under strict instruction of air traffic controllers but unlike their civilian counterparts, they have freedom to deviate and a duty to “see and avoid” other aircraft.