Over 40 bodies fished out; teen skaters, students among victims
Washington: Police boats returned to the Potomac River on Friday as part of the recovery and investigation after a midair collision killed 67 people in the United States’ deadliest aviation disaster in almost a quarter century.
More than 40 bodies have been pulled from the river as the massive recovery effort continued, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press on Friday. The officials were not authorised to discuss details of the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Investigators have already recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder of the American Airlines plane that collided with an Army helicopter as the plane was landing on Wednesday night at Ronald Reagan National Airport next to Washington, DC Officials are scrutinising a range of factors in what National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Hommendy has called an “all-hands-on-deck event”.
All aboard the two aircraft were killed, with officials examining the actions of the military pilot as well as air traffic control after the helicopter apparently flew into the path of the American Airlines jet.
Air crash investigations can take months, and federal investigators told reporters Thursday they would not speculate on the cause.
Authorities were still looking for the helicopter’s black box recorder, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday on Fox News Channel. Other factors in the crash, including the helicopter’s altitude and whether the crew was using its night vision goggles, are still under investigation, Hegseth said.
The victims of a crash between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter included teen figure skaters returning from a national meet with their mothers and coaches, an Ohio college student coming from her grandfather’s funeral, two Chinese nationals and a group of hunters headed back from a guided trip in Kansas.
They were among 60 travellers and four crew members on board the commercial flight late Wednesday when it collided with the Black Hawk helicopter, which was carrying three soldiers. Officials say there were no survivors.
