The homebuilt airplane that crashed into a California warehouse earlier this month appears to have had a door ajar while in flight, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board.

A deadly midair collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter near the nation's capital is bringing renewed focus on the federal agency charged with investigating aviation disaster

An American Airlines passenger jet and a military helicopter collided on Wednesday night, as the jet was landing at Reagan Washington National Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Robert Sumwalt is the former chair of the National Transportation Safety Board. He joined CBS News to discuss Wednesday's midair collision between an American Airlines plane and an Army helicopter and the ensuing investigation.

A witness saw the left main cabin door open during flight, and an examination of the door showed the interior handle was not in the locked position.

Dispatch reports say the plane crashed near the 7200 block of Calvert Street, where there are rowhomes. The reports said there were cars on fire.

Accident investigators are scrutinizing an unsecured cockpit door as a causal factor in the fatal crash of an RV-10 into a factory in Fullerton, California.

Both the instructor pilot in charge, identified as Chief Warrant Office 2 Andrew Eaves, and the female co-pilot were being evaluated during the flight and were familiar with the route.

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent federal agency tasked with examining serious transport-related accidents.

Search and rescue teams work near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the Potomac River, in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., January 31, 2025. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed to USA TODAY that investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the passenger airplane that collided in midair with an Army helicopter, leaving 67 people dead near Ronald Reagan National Airport.

New footage of the crash offers dramatic angles of the deadly collision between an American Airlines flight and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River on Wednesday night. What to Know: Two previously unseen cellphone videos obtained by CNN show the midair crash from different perspectives.