ARLINGTON, Va. — On Tuesday, authorities announced that the remains of all 67 individuals who perished in last week’s tragic midair crash involving an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter have been successfully recovered.
However, officials indicated that the chief medical examiner is still working to positively identify one set of remains.
“This is a heartbreaking time for the families of the victims as they come to terms with this immense loss,” expressed officials in a collaborative statement from various agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Navy dive teams, and the police and fire departments of Washington, D.C.
The announcement coincided with ongoing efforts to recover the cockpit and other fragments of the jetliner from the Potomac River, where the collision occurred last Wednesday evening. The crash took place just as the plane was about to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport, resulting in the loss of all lives aboard both aircrafts.
Throughout the day, visible operations included the lifting of significant pieces of debris from the river. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) mentioned that they do not plan to provide additional updates from the recovery site at this time.
Initially, authorities had been optimistic about recovering the remains of all deceased individuals. Their efforts are primarily focused on the aircraft with plans to retrieve the Black Hawk helicopter later this week.
Col. Francis B. Pera from the Army Corps of Engineers announced that salvage teams managed to recover one of the jet’s two engines along with sizable sections of the plane’s exterior on Monday. Work is ongoing to retrieve a wing section of the plane that originated from Wichita, Kansas.
On board the American Airlines flight were 60 passengers and four crew members, among whom were figure skaters returning from the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.
The Black Hawk helicopter was conducting a training mission and had three crew members: Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, from Lilburn, Georgia; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, from Great Mills, Maryland; and Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach from Durham, North Carolina.
Federal investigators are diligently working to unravel the circumstances that led to this tragic collision. Although comprehensive investigations can span a year or more, a preliminary report is anticipated within the next 30 days.
The crash on Wednesday marks the deadliest aviation incident in the U.S. since November 12, 2001, when a jetliner crashed into a New York City neighborhood shortly after takeoff, resulting in the deaths of all 260 individuals onboard and five more on the ground.
