ARLINGTON, Va. — On Monday, salvage teams successfully removed a significant segment of a commercial airplane from the Potomac River, close to Washington’s Reagan National Airport. This effort came five days after a tragic midair collision that resulted in the deaths of 67 individuals.
Officials indicated that the ongoing operation to extract the aircraft is set to continue for several days, as they prepare to also retrieve the military helicopter that was part of the incident.
The collision, which occurred between an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter, marks the most devastating aviation disaster in the United States since 2001.
Thus far, authorities have been able to recover and identify 55 of the 67 casualties. John Donnelly, Chief of Fire and EMS in Washington, D.C., expressed confidence that all victims will ultimately be accounted for. Crews were visible on a vessel utilizing a crane early Monday.
A large team of over 300 responders is engaged in the recovery mission at all times, as per the officials. To assist in lifting heavy debris, two Navy barges were employed for additional support.
Col. Francis B. Pera from the Army Corps of Engineers stated that divers and salvage workers are following rigorous protocols, pausing their efforts to recover debris if a body is discovered. He emphasized that the “dignified recovery” of remains takes precedence above all else.
Segments of both aircraft involved in the fatal incident — an American Airlines jet carrying 64 people and an Army Black Hawk helicopter with 3 occupants — are being transferred onto flatbed trucks for further analysis in a hangar.
The incident transpired as the American Airlines jet, which was en route from Wichita, Kansas, prepared for landing, while the Black Hawk was participating in a training exercise. There were indeed no survivors from either aircraft.
On Sunday, relatives of the crash victims were escorted by buses, under police surveillance, to the area along the Potomac River where the aircraft came to a stop post-collision.
Among the passengers on the commercial flight were figure skaters returning from the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, alongside a group of hunters returning from a guided expedition. The helicopter had three soldiers on board: Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, and Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach.
Federal investigators are methodically working to reconstruct the timeline and circumstances that led to the tragic event. Historically, comprehensive investigations can extend over the course of a year or more, although a preliminary report is anticipated within the next 30 days.
This accident stands as the most fatal in the U.S. since November 12, 2001, when a plane crashed in a New York City neighborhood shortly after takeoff, claiming the lives of everyone on board as well as five bystanders.
Experts emphasize the overall safety of air travel, but note that the busy airspace surrounding Reagan Airport can present complexities, even for highly skilled aviators.
Preliminary information released by the NTSB indicated conflicting altitude data for both the commercial airplane and the helicopter at the time of the incident.
Investigators mentioned that just prior to the collision, the flight recorder from the jet detected a shift in its pitch. However, it remains unclear whether this indicated an attempt by the pilots for evasive action to avert the accident.
Flight recorder data recorded the jet’s altitude at approximately 325 feet,±25 feet, at the moment of collision, while data from the control tower indicated that the helicopter was flying at an altitude of 200 feet, which is the maximum altitude permitted for helicopters in that area.
The reasons behind this discrepancy are still under investigation. The investigative team is hopeful that they will clarify these differences using data collected from the helicopter’s black box and by refining the control tower data, which could potentially be less accurate.
