Civil servants in Washington, DC, identified 55 bodies drawn from the Potomac River during a strenuous multi-day recovery operation after the Midaar’s collision Between a commercial plane and a black Hawk helicopter last week.
DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly, Sr. told reporters on Sunday that the remains of 55 of the 67 victims of the planning of the aircraft have been identified. The only injury that Donnelly reported was a first responder that developed hypothermia while searching in the ice -cold cold water, but the person recovered later.
Civil servants also said they are planning to lift the rubble from the Potomac River on Monday. Colonel Francis Pera of the US Army Corp or Engineers said that on Monday morning he expected “a successful lift”, and later adding that they will cover the wreck with a tent to protect human remains.
“We have a process where we will look at the lift as it happens,” Pera explained. “And if there are remains in it, it will not move while we restore the wreck. We will bring that wreck to the surface of the ship. Our process (is) to submit the ship immediately to ensure that we have that Full discretion.
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Emergency vehicles and recovery operations can be seen near the mouth of the River Anacostia on the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Friday 31 January 2025 in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn throws)
Civil servants are recently after the collision between a Sikorsky UH-60 on the rubble place in the river. Black Hawk -Helikopter and one Bombardier CRJ700 aircraft that operates under PSA Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines.
The flight data recorder of the aircraft indicated that it was hit by the helicopter at 325 feet on Wednesday evening, and that there was a change in the field of the aircraft prior to the impact, according to the provisional information released on Saturday.
“Currently, the CRJ (aircraft) was based on the data recorder at the time of Impact 325 feet, plus or minus 25 feet,” said Todd Inman, member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Todd Inman. “And for those who follow this closely, that is a corrected height.”
“At some point I can tell you, very close to the impact, there was a slight change in pitch, an increase in pitch,” he added when he was asked if the plane stopped.
Although the air traffic control data had the height of the aircraft at 200 feet by impact, Inman said that they “did not complete it and get more granularity for it”, and that data from the Black Hawk’s recorder is also needed to answer On the apparent 100 -boat difference in height.
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Crews get the wreck of American Airlines Flight 5342 from the Potomac River on January 30, 2025. (Leigh Green for Fox News Digital)
“When we have the recorder’s data, we can give you a more specific answer,” said Inman.
Jake Crockett, a firefighter and diver with the Scuba Rescue team at Chesterfield Fire & EMS, Fox News Digital told Last week that the recovery operation is “incredibly unusual”.
“We are trained and always ready to answer the call … When the diving call comes in, but that is usually with one victim. And in rare cases, a few victims,” ​​Crockett explained.
“But something of this size, you know, 67 people have to take into account, together with two planes and all the rubble is just it is incredibly unusual. It is something that, no doubt nor of them or I could have predicted.”
The fireman also noted that the Potomac River is challenges with regard to temperature and visibility of the water.
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A plane flies near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in the aftermath of the American Eagle Flight 5342 collision and a Black Hawk -Helicopter who crashed in the Potomac River, in Arlington, Virginia on January 30, 2025. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)
“It becomes zero visibility or almost zero is that they will dive into it, and therefore looking for small parts of an airplane in that kind of visibility will be extremely challenging,” Crockett explained. “The waters here and the lakes and ponds and rivers … If you go inside, it’s just dark.”
Mollie Markowitz from Fox News Digital has contributed to this report.
