Investigators recovered flight data from the American Airlines jet that was hit by a helicopter over the Potomac River.

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials retrieved the recorder, or black box, from the Bombardier CRJ-700 that plunged into the Potomac River on January 30.

Footage shows the team inspecting the contents of the device.

The devastating mid-air collision between an American Airlines Bombardier CRJ-700 and a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport happened on January 30.

The crash occurred around 9 pm, claiming the lives of all 64 people on board. There were 60 passengers and four crew members on the jet while three service members from the military were onboard the helicopter, which was on a training flight.

The CRJ-700, operated by PSA Airlines, was manufactured in 2010 and registered as N530EA.

The UH-60 Black Hawk, a military staple since 1979, has served in major operations worldwide.

Both aircraft plunged into the river following the catastrophic collision.

Ronald Reagan National Airport is in the centre of the nation's capital, near major federal institutions including the White House and Congress. It is also across the river from The Pentagon, the US Department of Defence, in Arlington, Virginia.