Heartbroken dad recalls moment he realised American Airlines plane carrying his wife and daughter had crashed

A CNN reporter was brought to tears during an interview with a man who lost both his wife and daughter in last week's fatal American Airlines crash.

The bodies of 64 travellers - including four members of crew - have now been recovered from the Potomac River (just outside of Washington DC), since the PSA jet collided with a United States Army Black Hawk helicopter on 29 Jan.

The three individuals that were also travelling in the chopper at the time were also found in the days that followed.

The commercial flight (5342) had departed from Wichita, Kansas earlier that evening, whilst the Sikorsky H-60 helicopter had been travelling from Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

All 67 bodies have been recovered from the river in Washington D.C (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

At around 21:00, witnesses of the incident say they say the aircrafts collide at speed, before subsequently plummeted into body of water below.

Search and rescue teams were subsequently dispatched - on boats and in helicopters - though officials soon admitted they didn't believe such a crash could result in any survivors.

According to The Independent, the reason for the collision has not yet been explained, however, it is being investigated following the retrieval of the plane's black box.

Amongst the total of 67 bodies since recovered were that of 12-year-old Brielle Beyer and her mother Justyna, 52, who'd been attending the US Figure Skating National Development Camp in Wichita.

Brielle's father and Justyna's husband Andy Beyer spoke to press yesterday (4 Feb) - less than a week after the devastating incident - to recall the moment he'd heard that heartbreaking fate that befell his family.

Speaking live on television to CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins, the father-of-two - who also shares a son with his late wife - was asked how he'd been faring since the loss.

"I go through these moments of extreme sadness and tears and then I get flat and numb," he began, immediately becoming emotional. "Then I feel guilty that I'm not just crying all the time, you know? It's just been hard … really hard."

Recalling the moment he found out about the crash, he revealed that he and his son had planned to collect Brielle and Justyna from the airport.

"We were waiting for them nearby Reagan [Washington National Airport] in a parking lot, and we were texting with them right before they were supposed to land," he went on.

"And the tracker said landed and the texts went from blue to green and firetrucks started going by and at that point, I knew something was wrong."

Brielle and Justyna Beyer died in the collision (GoFundMe)

After calling someone who was able to confirm that it was his family's flight that had collided with another aircraft, Andy says his six-year-old son yelled out 'no!' in an outburst that 'really hurt'.

"That’s how we found out before anything was really official. We already knew," he looked back.

Andy's daughter and wife were amongst a larger group of young skaters, returning to DC following the get-together.

"They, like all the victims, deserve to be remembered," Andy sobbed. "They deserve to have their story known to the world."

Asked how he wants people to remember Brielle and Justyna, he made a powerful point - reducing the on-screen journalist to tears.

"Everyone dies, right? And they live on through our memories," Andy continued. "And I want people to have a memory of them so that they live on. So that’s why I wanted to share their story."

Pausing the interview, Kaitlan told her guest: "Thank you for doing so, Andy, and I think everyone would be really touched to hear from you, so thank you for coming on to talk about that."

The news reporter was seen becoming emotional (CNN)

A GoFundMe page has since been set up by friends of the Beyer family, which has racked up a promising $131,733 USD since early this morning (5 Feb). You can donate here.

During the interview, Andy went on to admit he 'never' thought 'something like this could happen to you, describing Justyna as his 'soulmate' and 'wonderful mother', and telling viewers watching from home: "I'm going to miss her so much."

"You’re clearly both amazing parents, Andy," Kaitlan then replied. "And I just want you to know that everyone is praying for you and thinking of you in this moment.

"I know that doesn’t help but everyone is really thinking of you guys."