RICHMOND, Va. ( WWBT /Gray News) - A retired pilot gave a first-hand view of what it’s like to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Chuck Smith says he has made that approach and landing hundreds of times in his career. He shared a video showing what it looks like to fly near Washington, D.C., and over the Potomac River.

A jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided Wednesday with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington

As the American Eagle Flight 5342, a CRJ jet, approached the helicopter, the tower controller asked the helicopter pilot if he had the CRJ in sight. The helicopter pilot cannot be heard responding to the question before the two aircraft collided.

Seven U.S. pilots told Reuters the landing at Reagan airport is unique due to congested space, along with an inability to communicate directly with military aircraft, which operat

Twenty-seven bodies had been recovered from the downed plane, a Bombardier CRJ700 operated by PSA Airlines, and one had been recovered from the helicopter, a Sikorsky H-60, said the D.C. Fire and EMS Chief.