In the Potomac, a Grim Recovery Concludes

UPDATE Feb 4, 2025 4:27 PM CST

The remains of all 67 victims of last week's midair collision of an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter near the nation's capital have been recovered, authorities said Tuesday. The chief medical examiner is still trying to positively identify one set of remains, officials said in a news release. "Our hearts are with the victims' families as they navigate this tragic loss," reads a joint release from the city and federal agencies involved, including the US Army Corps of Engineers, Navy dive teams, and Washington, DC, police and fire crews. The news came as crews worked to try to recover the cockpit and other parts of the jetliner from the Potomac River. The AP reports they are focusing first on the jet and hope to recover the Black Hawk helicopter later this week.

Feb 3, 2025 11:40 AM CST

Crews began removing wreckage from the Potomac River from last week's deadly plane collision between an airliner and an Army helicopter. The midair crash was the deadliest US air disaster since 2001. Authorities have recovered and identified 55 of the 67 people killed in the crash, and DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly has said they're confident all will be found. Crews early Monday could be seen aboard a vessel with a crane, reports the AP. More than 300 responders were taking part in the recovery effort at any given time, officials said. Two Navy barges were also deployed to lift heavy wreckage.

Divers and salvage workers are adhering to strict protocols and will stop moving debris if a body is found, Col. Francis B. Pera of the Army Corps of Engineers said. The "dignified recovery" of remains takes precedence over all else, he noted. Portions of the two aircraft that collided over the river Wednesday night near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport—an American Airlines jet with 64 people aboard and an Army Black Hawk helicopter with three aboard—will be loaded onto flatbed trucks and taken to a hangar for investigation.

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On Sunday, family members were taken in buses with a police escort to the Potomac River bank near where the two aircraft came to rest after colliding. The plane's passengers included figure skaters returning from the 2025 US Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas, as well as a group of hunters returning from a guided trip. Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O'Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland; and Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach, 28, of Durham, North Carolina, were in the helicopter. Federal investigators were working to piece together the events that led to the collision. Full investigations typically take a year or more. Investigators hope to have a preliminary report within 30 days.

(More Potomac plane crash stories.)