At least five people aboard the American Airlines plane that plunged into the Potomac River on Wednesday night had ties to Charlotte, including the jet's four-person, Charlotte-based flight crew and one passenger.

Officials said all 60 passengers aboard the plane, the four flight crew members and three soldiers in the helicopter are dead.

Washington’s regional airport was closed after the crash that apparently took the lives of 67 people. The DC airport is reopening at 11 a.m.