ARLINGTON, Va. — On Monday, salvage teams successfully extracted a significant portion of a commercial airplane from the Potomac River, located near Washington’s Reagan National Airport. This operation took place five days following a tragic midair collision that resulted in the deaths of 67 individuals. The authorities have indicated that the removal of the aircraft will span several days, after which efforts will commence to retrieve the military helicopter involved in the incident.
The accident, which occurred between an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter above Washington, D.C., represents the most fatal air disaster in the United States since 2001. So far, 55 of the 67 fatalities have been identified, with confidence expressed by Washington, D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly that all victims will eventually be accounted for. On Monday morning, recovery crews were seen aboard a ship equipped with a crane.
Officials reported that at any given time, over 300 responders were actively participating in the recovery mission. Two Navy barges were brought in to assist in lifting the heavier wreckage from the river.
Col. Francis B. Pera from the Army Corps of Engineers stated on Sunday that divers and salvage workers are following rigorous safety protocols, explicitly halting operations if a body is discovered. He emphasized that the “dignified recovery” of human remains takes precedence over all other tasks.
The debris from the two aircraft—specifically, an American Airlines jet carrying 64 passengers and an Army Black Hawk helicopter with 3 personnel—was being transferred onto flatbed trucks for further examination in a hangar setting. The incident occurred as the American Airlines flight was preparing to land after departing from Wichita, Kansas, while the helicopter was engaged in a training mission. There were no survivors among the casualties.
On Sunday, relatives of the victims were escorted by bus, under police supervision, to the banks of the Potomac River, near where the wreckage settled following the collision. Among the airline’s passengers were figure skaters who were returning from the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, alongside a group of hunters concluding a guided excursion. The helicopter’s victims included Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39; and Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach, all of whom have been identified.
Federal investigators are currently working to reconstruct the sequence of events that led to the fatal collision, a full investigation of which can take over a year to complete. However, officials anticipate the release of a preliminary report within 30 days.
This unfortunate incident stands as the most lethal aviation disaster in the U.S. since November 12, 2001, when 260 people perished in a New York City neighborhood shortly after a jet took off, along with five individuals on the ground.
Aviation experts reiterate that air travel is predominantly safe; however, they acknowledge that the congested airspace around Reagan Airport can pose challenges, even for seasoned pilots. Preliminary data released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed discrepancies in altitude readings between the airliner and the helicopter leading up to the crash.
They also indicated that just one second before impact, the flight recorder of the aircraft captured a pitch change, although it remains unclear if this maneuver was an attempt by the pilots to evade the impending collision. At the time of the crash, altitude data from the jet indicated it was at approximately 325 feet, while control tower information indicated the helicopter was flying at 200 feet, which is the highest altitude permitted for helicopters in that airspace. The reason for this variance has not been clarified yet.
Investigators conveyed hopes of reconciling these discrepancies by analyzing data from the helicopter’s black box and refining control tower information, which may be less accurate.
