Pieces of wreckage from the American Airlines flight that crashed into a helicopter above the Potomac River have been removed from the water.
On Monday, crews from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers used large cranes to remove the wreckage of the jet that was part of the deadliest U.S. air disaster in nearly 25 years.
The removal comes as officials say they have recovered the remains of 55 of the 67 victims from the mid-air disaster. On January 29, the American Airlines flight collided with a military Black Hawk helicopter as the jet made its landing at Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C.
Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said divers still need to find the bodies of 12 victims and are committed to the dignified recovery of remains. Family of the victims visited the wreckage site over the weekend to pay their respects before the wreckage was removed.
The investigation into the disaster is ongoing and crews have recovered flight tracking and voice recorders from the plane.
Key Points
- Officials have recovered, identified 55 victims
- Black Hawk helicopter performing 'doomsday' training at time of collision
- Families visit plane crash site days after disaster
- Third helicopter pilot names as Capt Rebecca M. Lobach
- Data from all three aircraft 'black boxes' being extracted
Photos show removal of plane wreckage
20:14
,
Alex Lang
New photos released by the Army Corps of Engineers show the wreckage of American Airlines Flight 5342 being pulled out of the Potomac River
DC plane crash data show conflicting altitude readings from American Airlines jet and military helicopter
18:00
,
Graig Graziosi
Preliminary flight data from the deadly mid-air collision between an American Airlines jet and a U.S. military Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, DC has shown a significant discrepancy in altitude readings between the aircraft upon collision.
Data from the flight recorder inside American Eagle flight 5342 suggested it was cruising at about 325ft, with a 25ft margin of error on either side, when the aircraft collided over the Potomac River, adjacent to Reagan National Airport at 8:53 p.m. last Wednesday, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
However, data gathered from the air traffic control tower read that the military helicopter was flying at an altitude of about 200ft upon colliding with the commercial plane. The approximate 100ft discrepancy has not yet been explained.
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WATCH: Crews begin removing wreckage from Potomac River after deadly DC plane crash
17:24
,
Graig Graziosi
First major pieces of wreckage have been pulled from Potomac River crash site
16:31
,
Graig Graziosi
Recovery crews have removed the first major pieces of airplane wreckage from the Potomac River after an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed in midair last week.
Large lifts were brought to the river on Monday for use by the Army Corps of Engineers in the ongoing recovery process.
DC fire officials said over the weekend that the yet-to-be accounted for bodies will likely be recovered as larger pieces of the airplane and helicopter are removed.
The Army Corps of Engineers said it will first remove the remnants of the regional jet, and then the helicopter.
The loved ones of the victims were taken to the Ptomoac River shoreline near Regan International Airport for a short memorial on Sunday.
Flight attendant killed was on her final flight before switching positions
16:00
,
Graig Graziosi
A flight attendant who was planning to switch roles at American Airlines was on her final flight when she was killed in last week’s crash.
Danasia Brown was reportedly going to switch to a new role at the airline that would see her off the planes, according to her cousin, Carolyn Edwards.
Two Chinese nationals were on-board the American Airlines flight
15:45
,
Graig Graziosi
According to the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC, two of the individuals killed in the American Airlines - Black Hawk helicopter crash last week were Chinese nationals.
The embassy has not released the names of the two victims.
Army Corps of Engineers says salvage work should be finished by February 12
15:30
,
Graig Graziosi
The Army Corps of Engineers is leading the effort to recover the submerged remains of the regional jet and Army Black Hawk helicopter that crashed over the Potomac River last week.
The corps said in a press statement that its initial focus will be on recovering the regional jet, and then on recovering the Black Hawk.
The salvage and recovery operation is expected to last until February 12. The lifts needed to drag the larger chunks of the airplane from the water are expected to be in use until February 8.
Heavy equipment needed to continue body recovery
15:15
,
Graig Graziosi
DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly told CNN that heavier equipment would be needed to move the larger pieces of the plane submerged in the Potomac River.
Moving the larger chunks of the aircraft will be necessary to find the bodies of the remaining victims.
David Hoagland, president of the Washington, DC, Firefighters Local 36, told CNN that the recovery operation would get “complicated” as larger pieces of equipment were incorporated.
“Things have kind of slowed down this weekend because they’re waiting on a lot more heavier salvage equipment that’s going to be showing up sometime in the next 24 to 36 hours,” Hoagland told CNN over the weekend. “They’re going to be setting up for a pretty complicated operation where they’re going to be removing plane parts from the water on Monday.”
Watch: Footage captures moment of Washington DC plane crash
15:00
,
Alex Croft
Civil rights attorney and former Beauty pageant winner among the 67 killed in DC mid-air collision
14:31
,
Alex Croft
A civil rights attorney and former Beauty pageant winner is among those killed in the horror crash between a passenger plane and Army helicopter in Washington, D.C.
Teenage ice skating stars, their parents, and a soon-to-be-married pilot are some of the other souls lost in the January 29 tragedy.
All 64 people aboard the American Airlines jet and three aboard the Army Black Hawk helicopter are believed to have died after the aircraft crashed mid-air in a massive fireball and plunged into the icy Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport.
As of Sunday afternoon, 55 bodies had been recovered from the water, as families with loved ones aboard the flight wait to hear the worst.
Read the full report:
Dancing On Ice’s Christopher Dean fights back tears in tribute to skaters killed in plane crash
14:01
,
Alex Croft
Crews prepare to remove jet from Potomac River today
13:30
,
Alex Croft
Members of the Army Corps of Engineers are preparing to begin removing the American Airlines jet from the Potomac River on Monday, before moving to the Black Hawk helicopter.
“The initial focus is removal of the remnants of the regional jet, which is expected to take three days," the Army Corps of Engineers said in a statement.
Vice President defends Trump's statement linking 'DEI' to D.C. plane crash
12:58
,
Alex Croft
Vice President J.D. Vance defended President Donald Trump’s remarks baselessly linking diversity, equity and inclusion practices in government to the Washington, D.C. aircraft collision.
“The president made very clear that he wasn’t blaming anybody, but he was being very explicit about the fact that DEI policies have led our air traffic controllers to be short-staffed,” Vance told Fox News on Sunday. “That is a scandal. Thankfully, it’s a scandal that the president has stopped.”
When asked why he was now blaming efforts to recruit people with disabilities during a White House press conference, Trump replied: “Because I have common sense, okay, and unfortunately, a lot of people don't,” he said.
Vance said it’s important officials “investigate everything” but doubled down on his claims that “DEI policies” may have impacted air traffic control.
“Let’s just say the person at the controls didn’t have enough staffing around him or her because we were turning people away because of DEI reasons,” Vance said.
“There is a very direct connection between the policies of the last administration and short-staffed air traffic controllers,” he added.
Rebecca Lobach: Army captain killed in Washington DC crash was 'brilliant and fearless’, say friends
12:24
,
Alex Croft
A US Army captain killed in Wednesday's midair collision in Washington DC has been remembered as "brilliant and fearless".
Captain Rebecca Lobach was one of three soldiers who died when a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines jet collided, killing 67 people in total.
The Army identified Lobach on Saturday. The crash also claimed the lives of the jet's 60 passengers and four crew members.
Lobach, from Durham, North Carolina, had served as an Army aviation officer since July 2019. Her family said she earned an Army commendation medal and an achievement medal.
Read more below:
Memorial service held by Delaware skating community
11:52
,
Alex Croft
A memorial service was held in a Delaware ice arena in honour of five members of the state’s ice skating community who died in the D.C. plane crash.
Coach Alexandr Kirsanov, his students Angela Yang and Sean Kay, along with Angela’s mother Zheheng "Lily" Li and Sean’s mother Yulia Kay, all died in the crash.
They were returning from the U.S. Figure Skating National Development Camp in Wichita, Kansas.
Mourners from the skating community filled one side of the 2,500 seat arena to pay their respects in the service organized by High Performance Skating Center coaches Michelle Dumler-McKeever and Joel McKeever, according to Delaware Online.
"I can't even begin to wrap my mind around the fact that I'll no longer share the ice with him," said Dumler-McKeever of Kirsanov.
Sara Papillo, 24, who was taught by Kirsanov since she was nine, said: "Never in a million years could I or any of us have imagined an accident like this. One that claimed the lives of our loved ones and left our small, close skate community in pieces.”
Air traffic controller 'left work early' before deadly crash
11:19
,
Alex Croft
A supervisor allowed an air traffic controller at Ronald Reagan National Airport to leave early, hours before the passenger plane collided with an Army helicopter in midair, according to reports.
Both aircraft plunged into the icy Potomac River shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday and all 64 passengers on the American Airlines regional jet, along with three soldiers on the Black Hawk helicopter, are presumed dead.
A single controller was left to handle the air traffic of planes and helicopters flying over the airspace when two people would typically be monitoring both flight paths, sources told NBC.
Full report here:
ICYMI: King Charles pays tribute to victims of Washington DC crash
10:46
,
Alex Croft
The King’s message following the air accident in Washington, D.C. pic.twitter.com/UaPvGiIA6b
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) February 1, 2025
For an eight-year-old figure skater, the DC plane crash means the loss of friends and beloved coach
10:13
,
Alex Croft
Sienna Irena Piro needed a figure skating coach to give her a chance.
As a three-year-old, she tried out for several but was told she didn’t have elite talent.
That was until she met Inna Volyanskaya, a coach at the Ashburn Ice House in Ashburn, Virginia who competed for the pre-1991 Soviet Union and achieved international acclaim.
Sienna’s mother, Rachelle Chase Piro, had gotten Volyanskaya to agree to see her daughter through a friend but she was nervous about taking her to the rink. The then-seven-year-old was athletically behind other skaters her age and the coach was already working with several high-profile athletes.
Piro worried her daughter wouldn’t make the cut, she told The Independent in a phone call.
Michelle Del Rey reports:
Grueling search effort for a dozen bodies continues
09:41
,
Alex Croft
Crews in Washington, D.C. are continuing a somber recovery effort for the bodies of those aboard the American Airlines flight.
Twelve bodies remained among the wreckage as of Sunday afternoon, when it was confirmed that 55 had been recovered and identified, including all three of those on the US Army Black Hawk helicopter.
The search effort, which began on Wednesday evening under cover of darkness, has been long and gruelling.
Frigid water temperatures and difficult conditions have persisted as crews from nearly every dive team in the area attempt to recover the remaining bodies.
“Things have kind of slowed down this weekend because they’re waiting on a lot more heavier salvage equipment,” David Hoagland, president of the Washington, DC, Firefighters Local 36, told CNN on Saturday.
“They’re going to be setting up for a pretty complicated operation where they’re going to be removing plane parts from the water on Monday.”
Hydraulic rescue tools which can cut through metal have been used to recover as many victims as possible, Hoagland added.
Fire chief John Donnelly said authorities think they know where the remaining bodies are, but “we won’t know until we’re done.”
“I believe that when we remove the aircraft, that will help us resolve this number,” he added. “If it doesn’t, we will continue the search.”
A news release from the Army Corps of Engineers anticipated they would finish removing wreckage from the plane and helicopter by February 12.
In pics: Memorial honours victim of DC plane crash
09:21
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Who was flying the American Airlines plane and Black Hawk helicopter before Washington DC crash?
09:00
,
Katie Hawkinson
Here’s everything we know about the pilots on board both the Black Hawk helicopter and the American Airlines jet when the two aircraft collided Wednesday:
Families visit crash site days after the deadliest US air disaster in a generation
08:42
,
Alex Croft
Families of victims of the deadliest U.S. air disaster in a nearly in 25 years visited the crash site Sunday just outside Washington, D.C.
Dozens of people walked along the banks of the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport, close to where an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided Wednesday, killing all 67 aboard.
They arrived in buses with a police escort, memorializing loved ones as federal investigators work to piece together the events that led to the crash and recovery crews were set to pull more wreckage from the chilly water.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Sunday said he wanted to leave federal aviation investigators space to conduct their inquiry.
But he posed a range of questions about the crash while appearing on morning TV news programs.
Read the full report:
White House gives muddled answer about flight safety on commercial airlines
08:22
,
James Liddell
PETER DOOCY: Given DEI hires, it's not safe to fly commercially, is it?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 31, 2025
LEAVITT: The president believes it is still indeed safe. With that said ... pic.twitter.com/DhGPS7spzg
Transport secretary says air staffing was 'not normal' during crash
08:01
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The air traffic control staffing was "not normal" at the time of a mid-air collision between a US military Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger plane in Washington, the transport secretary said.
"I'll take the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) at their word that it wasn't normal," Sean Duffy told Fox News.
Just one air traffic control worker was managing helicopters and some planes from the airport, which is generally done by two people, CBS News reported citing two sources.
Mr Duffy said "that was part of the review process that we have to do".
He added that there was a "consolidation of air traffic controllers an hour before it was supposed to happen during the time of this crash. And so was, what was the appropriateness of that?"
Watch: New footage captures moment of Washington DC plane crash
07:00
,
Katie Hawkinson
Images from the river recovery operation
17:29
,
Graig Graziosi
Data shows helicopter may have been too high
06:01
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have determined the CRJ700 airplane was at 325 feet, plus or minus 25 feet, at the time of impact, officials said.
A Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Airlines passenger jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport this week, killing 67 people in all.
The information was based on data recovered from the jet's flight data recorder - the "black box" that tracks the aircraft's movements, speed and other parameters.The new detail suggests the Army helicopter was flying above 200 feet, the maximum altitude for the route it was using.
Preliminary data indicates the control tower's radar showed the helicopter at 200 feet at the time of the accident, though officials said the information has not been confirmed."That's what our job is, to figure that out," NTSB board member Todd Inman told reporters when asked what could explain the discrepancy.
ICYMI: Officials have recovered, identified 55 victims
05:00
,
Katie Hawkinson
Crews have recovered and identified 55 of the 67 victims presumed dead in the aircraft collision over Washington D.C., officials said Sunday.
This comes after mourners gathered on the banks of the Potomac River Sunday to honor those killed in the deadly crash.
Sound captured moments before crash
04:01
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The American Airlines plane's cockpit voice recorder captured sound moments before the crash, said investigator in charge Brice Banning.
"The crew had a verbal reaction," Mr Banning said, and the flight data recorder showed "the airplane beginning to increase its pitch. Sounds of impact were audible about one second later, followed by the end of the recording".
Families visit plane crash site
03:14
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Families of victims of the deadliest US air disaster in nearly 25 years visited the crash site on Sunday just outside Washington DC
.Dozens of people walked along the banks of the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport, close to where an American Airlines plane and an army Black Hawk helicopter collided on Wednesday, killing all 67 aboard.
They arrived in buses with a police escort, remembering loved ones as federal investigators worked to piece together the events that led to the crash and recovery crews prepared to pull more wreckage from the chilly water.
Transportation secretary Sean Duffy said he wanted to leave federal aviation investigators space to conduct their inquiry. But he posed a range of questions about the crash while appearing on morning TV news programmes.
"What was happening inside the towers? Were they understaffed/ The position of the Black Hawk, the elevation of the Black Hawk, were the pilots of the Black Hawk wearing night vision goggles?" Mr Duffy asked on CNN.
ICYMI: Olympic champion mourns teenage skaters killed in Washington DC crash
03:00
,
Katie Hawkinson
Officials to start lifting debris today
03:00
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The rescue officials will start lifting debris out of the Potomac River today, Col Francis Pera from the US Army Corp of Engineers, told reporters.
He said he anticipates "a successful lift" this morning.
"We do have a process where we will be watching the lift as it happens," Col Pera said. "And then if there are remains in there, that will not move while we're recovering the wreckage. We will bring that wreckage to the surface of the barge. Our process [is] to immediately tent the barge to make sure that we have full discretion."
For an eight-year-old figure skater, the DC plane crash means the loss of friends and beloved coach
01:00
,
Michelle Del Rey
Sienna Irena Piro needed a figure skating coach to give her a chance.
As a three-year-old, she tried out for several but was told she didn’t have elite talent.
That was until she met Inna Volyanskaya, a coach at the Ashburn Ice House in Ashburn, Virginia who competed for the pre-1991 Soviet Union and achieved international acclaim.
Sienna’s mother, Rachelle Chase Piro, had gotten Volyanskaya to agree to see her daughter through a friend but she was nervous about taking her to the rink. The then-seven-year-old was athletically behind other skaters her age and the coach was already working with several high-profile athletes.
Piro worried her daughter wouldn’t make the cut, she told The Independent in a phone call.
Keep reading:
Trump won't visit Washington DC plane crash site because it's 'the water': 'You want me to go swimming?’
Sunday 2 February 2025 23:00
,
Mike Bedigan
Donald Trump responded sarcastically to questions about whether he would be visiting the site of the deadly crash over the Potomac River in Washington D.C., asking reporters at the White House: “You want me to go swimming?”
The president said on Thursday he would be meeting with some of the families of victims of the tragedy, which occurred at Ronald Reagan Airport Wednesday night. All 67 people involved in the crash are presumed dead, authorities said previously.
When asked about his plans to visit the crash site, he replied: “I have a plan to visit, not the site. Because you tell me, what’s the site? The water? You want me to go swimming?”
Read more:
Families visit site of crash in Washington, D.C.
Sunday 2 February 2025 22:00
,
Katie Hawkinson
Mourners for the victims of the deadly aircraft collision above Washington, D.C. visited the crash site Sunday, ABC News reports.
All 67 people who were on board both aircraft are presumed dead.
"They're all just hurt and they want answers, and we want to give them answers," National Transportation Safety Board member J. Todd Inman said. "It's horrible. No one has to suffer this."
Crews prepare to remove jet from Potomac River on Monday
Sunday 2 February 2025 21:32
,
Katie Hawkinson
Members of the Army Corps of Engineers are preparing to begin removing the American Airlines jet from the Potomac River on Monday, before moving to the Black Hawk helicopter.
“The initial focus is removal of the remnants of the regional jet, which is expected to take three days," the Army Corps of Engineers said in a statement.
Officials have recovered, identified 55 victims
Sunday 2 February 2025 21:31
,
Katie Hawkinson
Crews have recovered and identified 55 of the 67 victims presumed dead in the aircraft collision over Washington D.C., officials said Sunday.
This comes after mourners gathered on the banks of the Potomac River Sunday to honor those killed in the deadly crash.
Air traffic controller 'left work early' before deadly crash as helicopter's flight height comes into question
Sunday 2 February 2025 21:03
,
Rhian Lubin
A supervisor allowed an air traffic controller at Ronald Reagan National Airport to leave early, hours before the passenger plane collided with an Army helicopter in midair, according to reports.
Both aircraft plunged into the icy Potomac River shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday and all 64 passengers on the American Airlines regional jet, along with three soldiers on the Black Hawk helicopter, are presumed dead.
A single controller was left to handle the air traffic of planes and helicopters flying over the airspace when two people would typically be monitoring both flight paths, sources told NBC.
Read more:
