AT LEAST 28 bodies were pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River after an American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington DC, officials said today.

Crews were still searching for other casualties but did not believe there were any other survivors, which would make it the deadliest United States air crash in nearly 24 years.

“We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” said John Donnelly, the fire chief in the nation’s capital. “We don’t believe there are any survivors.”

The body of the plane was found upside down in three sections in waist-deep water. The wreckage of the helicopter was also found.

There was no immediate word on the cause of Wednesday’s collision, but officials said flight conditions were clear as the jet coming from Wichita, Kansas, was making a routine landing when the helicopter flew into its path.

American Airlines chief executive Robert Isom said: “At this time we don’t know why the military aircraft came into the path of the aircraft.”

Three soldiers were aboard the helicopter during a training flight, an army official said.