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A passenger plane collided midair with an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River, near Washington's Reagan airport, killing everyone onboard. Credit: Newsday Studios

Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport reopened at 11 a.m. Thursday after a passenger plane collided midair Wednesday evening with an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River, causing dozens of fatalities.

No one survived the crash, which killed 67 people, and most of their bodies have not been recovered, according to D.C. fire and EMS chief John Donnelly Sr. The plane had 64 people aboard and the helicopter carried three soldiers.

"At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident, and we have recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter," he said.

Donnelly said that due to overnight winds, the area where wreckage and remains are being recovered has expanded broadly.

The plane, American Eagle Flight 5342, was en route from Wichita, Kansas. The plane was preparing to land at the time of the crash.

American Airlines chief executive Robert Isom said that the military helicopter went into the civilian plane’s path.

"At this time, we don’t know why the military aircraft came into the path of the PSA aircraft," he said at a Thursday morning news briefing, using the name of the carrier flying under American.

Four flights to Reagan from LaGuardia Airport, two from Kennedy and three from Newark were canceled Thursday morning, according to the website FlightAware. There are dozens of flights daily between New York City area airports and Reagan.

There were a total of 517 flights canceled at Reagan National and 27 flights reporting delays, in or out of Reagan, as the airport reopened at 11 a.m.

Most flights between Reagan and Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports were departing and arriving on time or with short delays. One 12:30 p.m. flight from Washington D.C. to Kennedy departed with about a one-hour delay.

Even as the airport reopens, officials expect residual delays from backups caused by flight cancellations and the airport closure overnight.

The airline’s passengers included figure skaters, coaches and family members who were participating in championships in Wichita.

"We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available," U.S. Figure Skating spokesperson Alex Schauffler said in a statement.

There are no significant delays at local New York airports, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, including at Long Island MacArthur Airport, which does not have direct flights to Reagan.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

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