As investigators recover victims in the wreckage of an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army helicopter, which collided near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport last night, we turn to the Tribune’s archives.

Here’s a look back at commercial passenger plane crashes that stunned Chicago.

May 31, 1936

Fifteen people onboard a Transcontinental and Western Air Lines plane were injured, but none critically, after a flight from Newark, N.J., crash-landed in a vacant lot near Midway airport on May 31, 1936. (Chicago Tribune)

A Transcontinental and Western airliner carrying 15 people — 12 passengers and three crew members — hit a tree and house at 6045 S. Kilbourn Ave. but managed to land in an empty lot near Chicago Municipal Airport (now Midway). All 15 survived.

“Why, the plane is almost an exact fit for that lot,” an observer told the Tribune. “A lot of terrible things could have happened and didn’t.”

Dec. 4, 1940

On Dec. 4, 1940, a United Airlines plane crashed while trying to land at Chicago Airport, now known as Midway International Airport. Six people died in the crash, including the pilot, Phil Scott, and the co-pilot, George S. Young. The roof of a house near 64th Street and Kilpatrick Avenue was damaged by the plane as it fell. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

A United Airlines DC-3 laden with ice on its windshield and wings stalled and crashed into a house at 6350 S. Keating Ave. on its second landing attempt at now Midway, killing 10. It’s believed to be the first commercial airplane crash in the city.

The crash caused the Civil Aeronautics Board to recommend that stall-warning devices be installed on airplanes to let pilots know when they are going too slow to stay aloft and to urge research into ways to reduce icing.

March 10, 1948

There was one survivor in the crash of a Delta Airlines DC-4 just after takeoff from Chicago’s Midway airport on March 10, 1948. Tripolina Mio, who was badly burned, was taken in critical condition to Holy Cross Hospital, the Tribune reported. (Chicago Tribune)

A Delta Air Lines DC-4 crashed and burned on takeoff from Midway airport. A gust lock, intended to prevent wind damage to the tail’s control surfaces when the plane is on the ground, was suspected. Twelve of 13 people on board died.

“Witnesses at the airport said the huge plane took off into a north wind and had a clear field ahead,” the Tribune reported. “The first hint of trouble was the flare-up and explosion when the plane hit the earth.”

July 17, 1955

Kenneth McAdoo, 20, a sailor from Eldorado, Kansas, still clutches his camera as he smiles at fire department Chaplain William Gorman after being rescued from the July 17, 1955, plane crash at Midway Airport. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

A Braniff Airways twin-engine Convair 340 trying to land at Midway Airport in fog struck a 15-foot-tall gas station sign at the northwest corner of the airport and crashed, killing 22 and injuring 21.

The crash was one of several accidents that prompted the city and federal governments to restrict obstructions and the height of buildings near airports.

Aug. 5, 1955

Capt. George A. Stone, the pilot of a Stratocruiser, was credited when all 68 people survived a crash landing in the same area as the Braniff accident.

“Stone told officials of Northwest Orient Airlines that the propellers of the plane failed to reverse as he made a normal landing after a flight from Minneapolis,” the Tribune reported.

Sept. 1, 1961

A loose bolt caused one-third of the tail section of a TWA Constellation plane to fall away minutes after takeoff from Midway airport and crash into a farm field near west suburban Clarendon Hills. All 78 people aboard died.

Sept. 17, 1961

Witnesses described explosions, screams, high flames and then billowing clouds of jet fuel after a Northwest Orient Airlines Electra crashed about one minute after takeoff from O’Hare International Airport on Sept. 17, 1961. (Chicago Tribune)

An improperly installed device to boost power to the wing ailerons that control flight caused a Northwest Orient Airlines Electra to crash after takeoff from O’Hare International Airport. The plane, bound for Florida, rolled to the right then descended, first striking a 34,000-volt power line, then a railroad embankment.

“Turning in … no control,” were the last distinguishable words from the cockpit, the Tribune reported.

All 37 people aboard died.

Aug. 16, 1965

A United Airlines 727 jet crashed in Lake Michigan — seven miles east of Highland Park — on Aug. 16, 1965. The aircraft was just minutes away from landing at O’Hare International Airport. (Chicago Tribune)

A United Airlines 727 descending at night to land at O’Hare flew into Lake Michigan about 20 miles east of Lake Forest. Because of an instrument error, the plane apparently descended through its assigned altitude of 6,000 feet with the crew thinking it was at 16,000 feet. All 30 people aboard died.

Dec. 27, 1968

One survivor of a North Central Airlines plane that crashed into a hangar and exploded at O’Hare International Airport on Dec. 27, 1968, told the Tribune how he escaped from the aircraft. “I popped open the emergency window, said ‘Let’s get out of here,’ and jumped,'” said U.S. Air Force Sgt. Carl Tessmer. (Chicago Tribune)

Buffeted by wingtip turbulence from a jet that had just taken off, a North Central Airlines Convair 580 lost control while taking off and hit a hangar at O’Hare. Twenty-eight died and 27 others were injured, including several people on the ground.

This crash and others prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to require a greater interval between jet aircraft on takeoff and landing.

Dec. 8, 1972

Forty-five people died when a United jet crashed into bungalows on West 70th Place while approaching Midway airport for landing. Eighteen aboard the plane survive.

The crash resulted in some bizarre theories about sabotage after it was discovered that the wife of Watergate conspirator Howard Hunt was one of the victims and she was carrying