Even if the crews continue to comb the Potomac river for the remains of the victims, the body of army engineers said that it planned to recover a key element of debris From the Potomac River Tuesday – The American Airlines Flight 5342 cockpit.
The 67 victims killed in the helicopter and the collision of the aircraft were recovered in the Potomac river, the unified command on Tuesday. Sixty-six leftovers have been identified positively.
Monday, Salvage Crews began the delicate task of removing freezing water wreckage The American Airlines Airplane and a Black Hawk military helicopter that collided in the air last week near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
The unified command said that its crews were still working to release wrecks, including large jet pieces from the river.
“Large elevators will continue until Tuesday evening, the unloading planned when the environmental and tides conditions allow it on Wednesday,” said the unified command. “The operations will then switch to the recovery of the wrecks of the Black Hawk helicopter.”

The rescue and rescue teams shoot the aircraft wreck in an American Airlines aircraft in the Potomac river on Monday, February 3, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia.
AP photo / Jose Luis Magana
With the roar of commercial jets that take off and land from the airport near the airport, and in the context of the American Capitol, the recovery operation began at dawn on Monday, officials said.
A large crane on a barge in the middle of the icy river had raised one of the engines of the passenger plane and the crumpled fuselage of the river plane at noon, said Pera at a press conference on Monday afternoon. He said the crews began to lift a wing of the passenger plane from the water around 2:30 p.m.
The pieces have been transferred to a flat trailer to be taken Tuesday in a nearby hanger where investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board will seek answers to what caused the deadliest American air disaster in 16 years.
The accident killed 64 passengers and the crew on board the regional jet and the flight crew of three people aboard the Black Hawk, which appeared on a night training mission when she crashed in the jet , officials said.
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“Our process is attached to the resumption worthy of the remains of staff and flight passengers,” said Pera.
During the operation on Monday, several work stoppages were sentenced to recovering several sets of remains in the middle of the wreckage, Pera said. These remains were removed and taken to the medical examiner for identification.
If leftovers are found during our process, an automatic work stoppage occurs and we will certainly start to start the appropriate coordination with the appropriate authorities. Gathering lost people in the tragic incident is really what makes us all. We have had teams that have worked from the start and who have committed to getting there, “said Pera.
He added that the preparation of the recovery operation had started on Friday, with divers equipped with several cameras by surveying the submerged wreck, focusing on large wreckage to eliminate the river first. He said that during the investigation on Saturday, leftovers were also recovered from water.
“I just want to make sure that everyone is clear to understand that all safeguard operations will be completed in close coordination with the unified command, all our partners to ensure strict membership in our central priority according to which recovery worthy of theft Missing missing passengers and staff have priority, “Pera said at a press conference on Sunday.
The crews working with several agencies, including the Navy and 200 members of the American Coast Guard, have made rehearsals on the best way to eliminate the wreck while preparing simultaneously to discover more victims, according to Pera.
“We have a large debris field. In this vast scope of debris, we use different techniques to make sure to understand what is in the water,” said Pera.
Members of the family of accident victims were taken to the banks of the Potomac river on Sunday for pay tribute to their lost loved ones. Among the people killed in the accident were a lawyer for civil rights, a biology teacher, several champion’s artistic skaters and many others.
“These people have suffered a terrible loss and they are in mourning and I think that is exactly what you expect,” said fire department John Donelly of the Washington, DC fire service, who visited the families. “There is a whole range of emotions.
If pieces of wreckage removed from the water contain, these pieces will be moved near a barge and a tent will be erected, then “we have a complete discretion, then we will bring suitable staff to manage at the time”, explained Pera.
Donelly said the local teams will continue to search the shore and around the river to ensure that all debris are collected.
“And if by chance, as a member of the public, you meet part of this, you should call it 911 and report it to them and we will take care of it and have it examined,” said Donelly.
Donelly described the mission of recovery and recovery of “difficult operation” for those who do the work. He said each agency supporting the mission has peer advisers to help divers and others empty the river to cope with the dark task.
“For our first speakers, all the people who come here to support, it is a difficult operation – and if you are a respondent to listen to this, we want you to know that you can have a lot of different feelings about this, And there are people here to help you, “said Donelly.
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