The father of the first officer onboard an American Airlines jet that collided with a military helicopter is speaking to FOX 35 News about the tragic crash over Washington, D.C. on Wednesday night.

An expert believes that because a civilian aircraft and military chopper were involved in the air tragedy, the investigation may be as comprehensive as any in history.

The deadly crash in the Potomac after an American Eagle jet collided with a military helicopter has stirred memories of a long-ago tragedy in Washington, D.C. An Air Florida flight taking off en route to Fort Lauderdale crashed into a bridge and tumbled into the icy Potomac in January 1982.

I don’t know of any other accident that has had this amount of impact on aviation but also in other industries,” one expert said of the 1982 crash.

CBS News confirmed only one air traffic control worker was managing the helicopters when the crash between a military helicopter and passenger plane occurred in Washington D.C. That is a job normally done by two people.

The midair collision over the Potomac River on Wednesday brings back chilling memories of another tragedy in the same waters more than four decades ago—when Air Florida Flight 90, bound for Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport,

National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said Thursday at a press conference that “we look at facts on our investigation and that will take some time.”

The midair collision at Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night has presented Sean Duffy with a major crisis just hours after he was sworn in as secretary of transportation.

The fatal midair collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter followed a string of near misses at airports over the last several years.

Divers are expected to return to the Potomac River as part of the recovery and investigation after the United States' deadliest aviation disaster in almost a quarter century.

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.

The news of an American Airlines jet and Black Hawk helicopter colliding on Wednesday recalls a similar tragedy that happened 43 years ago.