Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the collision last night was “absolutely” preventable. 

Duffy told reporters today the helicopter and civilian jet were in a “standard pattern” last night, and there was “standard communication” between the aircraft and the air traffic control tower. He said that experienced pilots were involved. 

“Everything was standard in the lead-up to the crash. Obviously something happened here,” he said.  

He later said he believes President Donald Trump’s claim that the incident was preventable was true. 

“To back up what the president said, what I’ve seen so far, do I think this was preventable? Absolutely,” he said. 

The airport will reopen at 11 a.m. ET today, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority CEO Jack Carter said during the press conference.

"We're going to open the airport up at 11 o'clock. It's safe," Carter said.

"We've worked with all the federal agencies, the FAA, and you know, it's been determined that we can open that airport safely," he continued.

Carter added that individual airlines will announce and communicate their flight plans with customers as the airport returns to normal functions.

A recovery center has been set up to receive remains from the Potomac River crash at the D.C. Fire Helipad at South Capitol Street SW.

Boats and ambulances were seen arriving to transfer human remains to red tents acting as a temporary morgue in the area.

The D.C. medical examiner said the recovery operation is the largest undertaken in D.C. in decades. In a press conference today, Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly said authorities believed there were no survivors from the crash.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., urged the public to be patient as authorities get answers to last night's deadly crash.

“Sorrow, thanks and questions. Sorrow, as all have expressed, to the crew, to the passengers, to the soldiers, to their families, to their friends, to their loved ones, to people who are still trying to get information and unsure whether their loved ones have been lost,” he said at this morning's news conference. “We offer our profound condolences to them and our sorrow for this tragedy.”

He said there will be many questions that the National Transportation Safety Board will now be tasked with answering. 

“It’s not a time to speculate. It’s a time to investigate and get answers to the questions we need, and I’m confident that will be done.”

Despite a mammoth search and rescue operation, Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly said during a press conference early today that there were not believed to be any survivors from the midair collision over the Potomac River.

“We are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” he said. “At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident.”

At least 28 bodies have been pulled from the water, he said. Of those, 27 were from the American Eagle civilian jet and one from the U.S. Black Hawk helicopter, Donnelly said. Multiple medical examiner offices are working on identifying the victims, with the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner leading the efforts to reunite the bodies with loved ones.

“We will continue to work to find all the bodies and collect them and reunite them with their loved ones,” Donnelly said.

Nearly two dozen local, state and federal rescue teams have been deployed for the search and rescue operation. Donnelly said earlier that about 300 responders were working on the ground as police and fire boats were deployed throughout the region. A mutual aid agreement between the city of Washington and the National Capital Region, as well as the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, is also in place.

Earlier, the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington said it was working directly with the Arlington and Metropolitan Police Department, fire and EMS teams. “VHC Health is prepared to assist and support first responders as these agencies continue their emergency response,” it said, adding that it had not received any patients at this time.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at the press conference that the Black Hawk helicopter was in a "standard flight pattern" at the time of the collision and was aware there was a passenger plane in the immediate vicinity.

"Last night, the helicopter was in a standard pattern. If you live in the D.C. area, you’ll see helicopters up and down the river, this flight pattern is seen oftentimes when you live in D.C.," Duffy said.

The newly-minted transportation head added that the American Airlines flight was also in a "standard flight pattern," telling reporters both aircraft's paths were "not unusual."

"This was not unusual with a military aircraft flying over the river and aircraft landing at DCA and again, if you live in the area, you’ll see that frequently with those two aircraft working together," Duffy said.

Duffy said that "safety is our expectation" and that he knows "you will not rest until we have answers for the families and for the flying public."

President Donald Trump released a statement on the deadly collision between an American Airlines flight and an Army Blackhawk helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington last night, thanking first responders.

Later writing on social media, he said: “The lights were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn… why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane. This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented.”

Audio from the air traffic control tower may provide clues as to what happened just before last night’s disaster.  

“Pat 25, do you have the CRJ in sight,” the DCA Tower had asked the chopper, then directed it to pass behind it. Shortly after, audio then captured reactions of shock from the tower. 

The two collided and the plane broke into two pieces upon impact and both plunged into the Potomac River. 

“It was probably out in the middle of the river. I just saw a fireball and then it was just gone,” audio from DCA ground said.