An American Airlines flight colliding with an Army helicopter in Washington, D.C. was a sheer moment of heartbreak for people across the nation and in the Tampa Bay Area.

Several federal and state investigations have been launched after an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter collided near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and fell into the Potomac River,

One of the pilots of the passenger jet involved in a mid-air collision in Washington, D.C. was a native of New York but grew up in Florida, where he learned to fly planes, according to records and statements from those who knew him.