The soldiers on the helicopter that collided with an American Airlines jet on Wednesday night were from the 12th Combat Aviation Battalion based in Virginia.

Dozens of people are dead after a regional jet collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter Wednesday night over Washington, D.C., officials said, the nation's first major commercial airline crash since 2009.

For the latest updates on victim recovery efforts, please read USA TODAY's live coverage of the plane crash investigation on Friday, Jan. 31. WASHINGTON - The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed to USA TODAY on Thursday evening that investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the Bombardier CRJ700 airplane that collided in midair with an Army helicopter,