By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A small aircraft crashed in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport late Wednesday, and fire boats were on the scene, the Washington fire department said.

Search efforts continue after an American Airlines plane from Wichita, with 64 people on board, collided with an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., and crashed into the Potomac River.

While driving home, Ari Shulman said a "spray of sparks" in the sky caught his attention as he watched in horror the midair collision unfold.

One of the worst nightmares for travelers might have just happened. An American Airlines plane from Wichita, Kansas (Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport – ICT) to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) appears to have crashed into the Potomac River.

Animal rescuers in Washington, D.C., teamed up with police and firefighters to rescue a deer stranded in the icy Potomac River.

A deer in danger in Washington, D.C. was saved from the icy Potomac River by first responders. The Washington Metropolitan Police Department Harbor Patrol and the D.C. Fire and EMS Fireboat crew. Animal Control dispatchers were alerted of the deer by multiple people passing by the area.

A deer that was stranded on the frozen Potomac River in Washington ... The Brandywine Valley SPCA said it got help from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Harbor Patrol as well as the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services’ Fireboat ...

The National Transportation Safety Board says it has recovered two so-called “black boxes” from the American Airlines regional jet, following the deadly collision with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday evening.

Two “black boxes” have been recovered from the American Airlines regional jet following its deadly collision with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday evening, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Residents and visitors were told to not touch or remove debris from the Potomac River, as the investigation into the midair D.C. plane crash remains ongoing.

Members of Congress expressed concerns about air congestion in an area where a commercial passenger jet collided with a military helicopter over the Potomac River.