All 67 victims of last week’s fatal mid-air collision between an American Airlines regional jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter have been recovered, officials confirmed on Tuesday.
Rescue teams spent several days retrieving debris from the CRJ-700 aircraft, including its engine, fuselage, and other wreckage submerged in the water.
American Airlines Flight 5342 was just moments from landing at Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport when it crashed into the military helicopter, killing all 64 passengers and crew on board the jet, along with three Army personnel aboard the Black Hawk.
The disaster marks the deadliest US aviation accident since 2001 and the first major fatal passenger airline crash in nearly 16 years.
Details of the DC plane crash
The deadly mid-air collision unfolded on Wednesday night when an American Airlines regional jet, American Eagle Flight 5342, struck a US Army Black Hawk helicopter just a few kilometers from the White House, sending both aircraft into the Potomac River.
The Bombardier CRJ700, operated by PSA Airlines, had departed from Wichita with 60 passengers and four crew members aboard.
American Airlines confirmed that no one on the jet survived the crash.
The collision also claimed the lives of all three Army personnel aboard the Black Hawk.
Dramatic images from the crash site showed wreckage, including a wing and part of the fuselage, emerging from the river as recovery efforts continued.
Reacting to the tragedy, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social, calling the crash “a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented.”
Later, he stated he had been “fully briefed” on the incident but did not provide further details on what may have led to the disaster.
Worst US air disaster since 2009
Wednesday night’s mid-air collision marks the deadliest commercial aviation disaster in the US since 2009, when Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed into a home near Buffalo, New York, killing all 49 passengers and crew, along with one person on the ground.
As investigators work to uncover the cause of the tragic accident, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is set to release its preliminary findings in the coming days.
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