All 67 bodies recovered after deadly Washington mid-air collision PHOTO/VIDEO/UPDATED

Authorities have recovered the bodies of all 67 victims from the Potomac River, following the devastating mid-air collision between an American Airlines jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter.

The crash, which occurred nearly a week ago over Washington, DC, marks the deadliest aviation disaster in a generation.

Now, recovery teams are shifting their focus to clearing the remaining wreckage as investigators work to determine what caused the catastrophic collision, Caliber.Az reports via CNN.

On February 4, crews pulled more significant portions of the wreckage from the river, offering investigators new pieces of the puzzle. A large section of the Bombardier CRJ700 jet’s fuselage, with rows of cabin windows still intact, was hoisted onto a barge. Later in the day, the tail of the aircraft — marked with American Airlines' red, white, and blue livery — was recovered from the murky waters.

Of the 67 victims retrieved, 66 have been identified as of February 4. Officials continue efforts to confirm the final identity.

For the second consecutive day, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) postponed a planned public update on the investigation.

“NTSB needs additional information to verify data points from the Black Hawk,” the agency stated on X, formerly Twitter, adding that a written update would be provided later in the day.

Authorities have been analyzing data from the Black Hawk’s flight data recorder, which was recovered over the weekend. However, key details about the moments leading up to the collision remain unclear, and investigators have yet to determine the cause.

President Donald Trump reached out to American Airlines CEO Robert Isom on February 3 to discuss the tragedy, a source told CNN. While the White House has not commented on the details of their conversation, CNN obtained an internal memo from Isom to employees confirming the call.

In the memo, Isom stated that Trump expressed his condolences for the crew members, passengers, and their loved ones. The president also asked Isom to relay his “personal appreciation” for the work of airline employees who are assisting the families of the victims.

American Airlines has announced that it will hold a moment of silence on Wednesday to mark one week since the deadly accident.

As the salvage operation continues amid freezing winter conditions, investigators face mounting pressure to determine how a commercial jet and a military helicopter collided in mid-air. The recovery of additional wreckage and analysis of flight data may eventually provide crucial answers, but officials warn that a full explanation could take weeks or longer.

15:31 (February 4)

The complex job of removing the last of the wreckage after a military helicopter collided with American Airlines Flight 5432 and crashed on January 29 in Washington DC is ongoing.

According to Col. Francis Pera, Commander of the Baltimore District, recovery teams have already lifted the aircraft engine, fuselage and wing from the Potomac River, Caliber.Az reports citing NBC News.

Officials state that the final phase of wreckage removal is crucial to recover all 67 victims who lost their lives in the tragic crash over the Washington area. The recovery operation commenced at sunrise on February 3.

As of February 2, Washington Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly confirmed that 55 of the victims' remains have been positively identified. “We’re going to recover everyone,” Donnelly said during a news conference. He added, “If we knew where they were, though, we would already have them out. We still have work to do, but we will stay here and search until everyone is recovered.”

The recovery teams have faced tough conditions, including near-zero visibility in the dark waters of the river.

Additional human remains were discovered during the recovery efforts on February 3 and are being processed by the Washington Chief Medical Examiner's office, according to Assistant Chief Gary Steen. Steen believes the remaining remains are still trapped in the wreckage.

The Baltimore District of the Army Corps of Engineers plans to lift the wreckage in stages over the course of three days. After the American Airlines jet is fully recovered, the focus will shift to the remains of the Black Hawk helicopter involved in the collision. The “large lifts” portion of the operation is expected to be completed by February 8, with the removal of other debris continuing until at least February 12. The operation will pause temporarily if any bodies are discovered.

Pera emphasized the exceptional coordination behind the recovery efforts. “We have not and will not lose focus on what is most important — the safety of our crews and accounting for those still missing, to bring closure to their families and loved ones,” Pera said.

The recovery timeline is contingent on the availability of lifting equipment, as well as weather conditions and tidal factors.

February 3 (9:11)

Authorities have successfully located and identified the remains of 55 victims from the plane crash over Washington, DC, officials announced at a press conference. 

The head of the city’s Department of Fire Protection and Emergency Medical Services, John Donnelly, provided the update, confirming the progress made in identifying those who perished, Caliber.Az reports via US media.

“To date, 55 victims have been successfully identified,” Donnelly stated. He also confirmed that efforts to recover the aircraft wreckage will begin on February 3, as specialists prepare for the complex operation.

Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed new findings about the crash, highlighting conflicting altitude readings between the airliner and the Black Hawk military helicopter.

Preliminary data indicates that, just a second before impact, the jet's flight recorder detected a change in the aircraft’s pitch. However, investigators have not yet determined whether this was an evasive maneuver attempted by the pilots to avoid the collision.

According to NTSB officials, flight recorder data from the jet indicated an altitude of 325 feet, plus or minus 25 feet, at the moment of the crash on January 29 night. However, control tower data placed the Black Hawk helicopter at 200 feet, which is the maximum permitted altitude for helicopters in the area. The discrepancy between these readings remains unexplained.

Investigators are now focusing on retrieving data from the Black Hawk’s black box, which has proven difficult as it was waterlogged after the helicopter plunged into the Potomac River. Officials hope that analyzing this data will help resolve the conflicting altitude readings. Additionally, they plan to refine the control tower data, which can sometimes be less reliable.

The Washington collision is one of two fatal aviation incidents in the US within a week. On January 29, an American Airlines passenger jet collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter in the skies above Washington. The airliner, which was flying from Kansas, carried 60 passengers and four crew members, while at least three military personnel were aboard the helicopter. The collision caused both aircraft to crash into the Potomac River, resulting in significant casualties.

Two days later, on January 31, another aviation disaster struck — this time in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where a Learjet 55 medical flight crashed. The incident claimed the lives of at least seven people, while 19 others were hospitalized.

13:10 (February 1)

Rescuers, including members of the DC Fire and Ambulance Service, paid tribute to the remains of three US service members who were tragically killed in an airborne collision. 

Their bodies were carefully transported in ambulances and sent to a temporary emergency site at Buzzard's Point in Washington, DC, Caliber.Az reports via US media.

The US Army has officially identified two of the service members. The first was Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O'Hara, 28, a Black Hawk crew chief petty officer. O'Hara leaves behind his wife and one-year-old son. The second service member was Senior Non-Commissioned Officer 2nd Class Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39. The name of the third soldier has not been released, at the request of her family.

US emergency services have successfully recovered the remains of 41 individuals who were killed when a passenger plane collided with a military helicopter near Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington, DC. As of now, 28 victims have been identified.

John Donnelly, head of the DC Fire Department, confirmed the recovery efforts in a statement, noting that "We have recovered 41 bodies and 28 victims of the plane crash have been identified. As of 6 a.m., 18 families have been notified of their relatives." Donnelly added that rescue teams are continuing their work and hope to recover the remains of all the victims in the coming days.

9:21

Former figure skater Alexander Kirsanov, a decorated ice dancer who represented Azerbaijan, Russia, and the United States, was among those killed in a tragic plane crash near Washington, DC on January 29. 

His wife, Natalia Gudina, confirmed the news in an emotional statement to ABC, saying, “I lost everything. I lost my husband, my students, my friends.”

Kirsanov had a distinguished career in figure skating, winning second place at the 1997/98 Junior Grand Prix while competing for Russia. In the 1999/2000 season, he became the national champion of Azerbaijan.

The crash occurred when an American Airlines passenger plane, en route from Kansas with 60 passengers and 4 crew members, collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The collision caused both the plane and the helicopter to crash into the Potomac River. At least three military personnel were on board the helicopter at the time.

The authorities said that 41 sets of remains have been recovered so far.

The tragic incident is still under investigation.

17:51 (January 31)

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has stated that it may take a year or more to determine the final cause of the plane crash over Washington, DC. 

According to ABC News, Todd Inman, a spokesperson for the NTSB, confirmed that while a preliminary report will be released within 30 days, a full investigation into the incident could take much longer.

Inman explained that the agency has already begun collecting data from the flight recorder and other recording devices removed from the aircraft to assist in the investigation.

"The data recorder itself has thousands of data points and they all have to be synchronized against a lot of other things that happened in the plane," Inman said. "The voice recorders have to be what is called 'auditioned' among a number of people so that there's complete agreement of how the transcript will come out. We also look for ancillary noises. Maybe a boom or thud or crack or something in the cockpit. Those things are going on concurrently, along with the fact we have several hundred people in the field looking at every other aspect of this investigation."

Inman also said that it is way too early to make any conclusions about what exactly caused the crash.

"The only conclusion I know is last night we met with several hundred family members who lost their loved ones in the Potomac," he said. "We don't need that to happen anymore. We're going to work. We're going to continue. We're going find out what happened and we're going try to stop it from happening again."

The NTSB is working to thoroughly analyze the information before reaching a definitive conclusion.

16:58

The crew of the Black Hawk military helicopter involved in a collision with a passenger airliner over Washington, DC, may not have seen the aircraft due to the helicopter's limited composition, according to a former Black Hawk pilot.

In an interview with Fox News Channel, the pilot explained that the Black Hawk requires a crew of four to operate it safely, but on the night of the crash, only three individuals were on board. “This is a common situation during training flights,” he said. “Typically, there are two commanders in the rear of the helicopter, who have a 90-degree viewing angle and can see much more than the pilots in front.”

The pilot emphasized that the absence of the fourth crew member could have limited the crew’s ability to spot the oncoming airliner in time. "The rear commanders have a wider field of view, which can help in spotting other aircraft, but with only three crew members, their visibility was likely compromised," he noted.

The former pilot also acknowledged that the Black Hawk had deviated from its required altitude in an attempt to avoid the collision. However, the manoeuvre was not enough to prevent the tragic accident. "The crew tried to avoid the other aircraft, but in doing so, the helicopter may have veered off its proper altitude," he admitted.

Additionally, former army pilot Jonathan Koziol, who works in the centre for coordination of the consequences of the disaster, revealed that the military helicopter Black Hawk was piloted by a female pilot.

Koziol confirmed that the female pilot operating the flight at the time had 500 hours of flying time.

9:31

Emergency workers have recovered the bodies of 40 victims following the devastating collision between a Bombardier CRJ700 passenger plane and a Sikorsky H-60 military helicopter near Washington, DC. 

According to CBS News, citing law enforcement sources, some of the bodies were retrieved from the water, while others were found onshore, per Caliber.Az.

Specialists believe that all recoverable remains have now been located, though some victims may still be trapped in the tail section of the aircraft, which remains inaccessible to divers.

Speaking about the tragedy, US President Donald Trump stated that the crew of the passenger plane had followed all proper landing procedures and placed the blame on the helicopter pilot for the fatal collision.

He emphasized that the American Airlines aircraft had been on its designated course for landing when, for reasons still unclear, the helicopter appeared at the same altitude, leading to the disastrous impact. He described the accident as terrible and confirmed that there were no survivors.

Trump also expressed his condolences to the families of those lost, including Russian citizens who were among the victims. He acknowledged that relatives are now mourning in Wichita, Kansas, in Washington, and across both the US and Russia. Among those on board was a group of talented Russian figures, whose loss, he said, was deeply regrettable. Among them were the 1994 world figure skating champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, as well as USSR bronze medalist Inna Volyanskaya. The official list of figure skaters and coaches who were on board the flight has already been released, confirming their tragic deaths.

From the White House, Trump confirmed that the US government has already been in contact with Russian officials regarding the victims. He assured that efforts are being made to assist in the repatriation of the bodies to their homeland.

The crash occurred as the passenger plane was approaching Runway 33 at Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC. The Bombardier CRJ700 was carrying 60 passengers and three crew members, while the Sikorsky H-60 military helicopter had a crew of three.

16:12 (January 30)

At least 30 bodies have been recovered from the Potomac River after a tragic mid-air collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter on the evening of January 29. 

The crash, which occurred near Washington D.C., involved 64 people aboard the jet and three crew members on the helicopter, all of whom are feared to be dead, according to Kansas Senator Roger Marshall.

By the morning of January 30, recovery teams had pulled 30 bodies from the water, as reported by multiple sources to NBC Washington, per Caliber.Az.

A large-scale emergency response is underway, with fireboats on the water and teams from the Metropolitan Police Department and local fire departments working around the clock.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that the collision occurred when a PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet, operating as American Airlines Flight 5342, collided mid-air with a Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter while both were approaching Runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 p.m. local time. The jet had departed from Wichita, Kansas.

12:42

World champions in pairs figure skating, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, were confirmed to be on the plane that crashed near Washington, D.C.

"Our coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were on board the crashed plane," the source who spoke to Russian media confirmed, per Caliber.Az.

The 52-year-old Shishkova and 55-year-old Naumov were crowned world champions in 1994 and have earned multiple honours in their careers, including silver and bronze medals at world championships and European championships. In the 1995/96 season, they won the Grand Prix Final of the International Skating Union. After retiring from competitive skating, they moved into coaching and have been living in the United States since 1998.

The crash site is near Reagan Airport, where rescue efforts have been hampered by chunks of ice in the Potomac River, complicating the work of divers and other responders.

Washington Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief Jonah Donnally spoke about the challenges faced by emergency teams: “The problems are related to access. The water we're working in is about 8 feet deep. The wind is blowing, there’s chunks of ice. So it's just dangerous and difficult to work there."

Donnally added, "And because there’s not a lot of light, you have to look around every square inch of space looking for somebody. Divers do the same thing in the water. The water is dark, murky, and it's a very difficult environment to dive in."

As of January 30, efforts continue with divers, helicopters, and boats deployed to search the waters for survivors.

12:06

On January 30, footage surfaced on social media showing a moment from the control room screen during the tragic collision near Washington, D.C., where a Sikorsky H-60 military helicopter collided with a Bombardier CRJ700 passenger jet during its approach.

Air traffic control operators had been attempting to communicate with the helicopter crew just before the crash occurred, Caliber.Az reports via US media.

In the recording, the dispatcher is heard asking the helicopter crew if they can see the passenger aircraft, then instructing them to allow the jet to pass and fly behind it. 

The video captures the sound of a sigh from the cameraman, as the helicopter is seen closing in on the passenger jetliner.

9:59

A midair collision between a passenger aircraft and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter occurred near Reagan National Airport outside Washington, DC, as the plane was approaching the runway, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and defence officials.

The aircraft involved was American Airlines Flight 5342, carrying 60 passengers and 4 crew members, Caliber.Az reports citing multiple US media outlets.

The plane had departed from Wichita, Kansas. The Black Hawk helicopter, which was on a training flight, had three soldiers aboard at the time of the incident.

Officials confirmed that no VIPs were on the helicopter, noting that high-ranking Army officials typically use the Black Hawk for travel within the Washington, D.C. area.

Following the crash, all takeoffs and landings were halted at Reagan National Airport.

Details remain unclear about the helicopter’s point of departure prior to the collision. CNN reported that the exact location and the specific training tasks of the helicopter crew are still unknown.

A significant emergency response ensued, with dozens of firefighters engaged in recovery operations in the Potomac River, as stated by Edward Kelly, President of the International Association of Firefighters. Emergency crews, including military personnel, park police, and DC Metropolitan Police, rushed to the scene.

President Donald Trump was briefed on the "terrible accident" and commended the “incredible work” of emergency services.

CBS News later reported that 18 bodies had been recovered from the Potomac River, following the crash. Other outlets, such as the Washington Post, also confirmed the recovery of multiple bodies, although no survivors have been found.

This incident echoes the tragic Air Florida crash that occurred on January 13, 1982, when a flight plunged into the Potomac River, killing 78 people due to poor weather conditions.

The last fatal crash involving a US commercial airline occurred in 2009 near Buffalo, New York. A Bombardier DHC-8 propeller plane, which crashed while approaching the airport, killed all 49 people aboard and one person on the ground. The investigation determined that the captain's error caused the plane to stall.

By Tamilla Hasanova