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 Tampa Bay.

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.

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,