Here’s a look at U.S. aviation safety statistics

Air safety

An American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided Wednesday with an Army helicopter while coming in for a landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. Here, we look at what happened and, more broadly, at aviation safety in the U.S.

The Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet and Black Hawk helicopter both crashed into the icy Potomac River after colliding in midair, launching a desperate overnight search and rescue mission. No survivors are expected, officials said.

Sixty-four people were on the plane, which departed from Wichita, Kansas. Three Army soldiers were aboard the helicopter, which was on a training flight, officials said.

Wednesday

5:38 p.m. Central time: American Airlines Flight 5342 departs from Wichita, Kansas, for Reagan National. The flight is scheduled to land in Washington, D.C., at 9:03 p.m. Eastern time.

8:47 p.m. Eastern time: An air traffic controller asks the Black Hawk pilot if they have Flight 5342 in sight and instructs the pilot to pass behind the plane. The pilot confirms to the tower a few seconds later that they have the plane in sight and will maintain visual separation, according to the air traffic controller audio recording released by LiveATC.net.

8:47:58 p.m.: The time of the Black Hawk’s last transmission.

8:48:01 p.m.: The time of Flight 5342’s last transmission. Around this time, the D.C. Fire Department and emergency medical services receive an alert of an aircraft crash in the Potomac River on approach to Reagan National, initiating a large local, state and federal response.

You can find the national Transportation Safety Board’s aviation accident dashboard here.

Most recent deadly crashes

2013: An Asiana Airlines plane crashed at San Francisco International, killing three people and injuring more than 180.

2009: A Colgan Air turboprop crashed on landing approach in Buffalo, New York, killing all 49 people on board and one person on the ground.

2006: A Comair regional jet overran the runway while taking off from Lexington, Kentucky, and crashed, killing 49 of the 50 people on board.

2005: A Chalk’s Ocean Airways turboprop crashed after takeoff from Miami, killing all 20 people on board.

Sources: FAA, International Civil Aviation Organization, The Associated Press, Aviation Safety Network, CNN, Google Earth, GlobalAir.com