If changes aren't made, that near-miss becomes a mid-air collision,” one aviation safety expert said. “Unfortunately, that's what we had last night.”

The Federal Aviation Administration in a statement said American Airlines Flight 5342, departing from Wichita, Kansas to Washington, collided around 9 p.m. midair while approaching the runway with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter.

American Airlines will stop using flight number 5342, the number used by the jet that collided with a helicopter Wednesday night, for any future flights. The airline said the flight from Wichita, Kan.