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DC plane crash updates: Remains of 55 victims recovered and positively identified

PHOTO: A plane flies over crosses near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and the helicopter that crashed into the Potomac River, in Arlington, Virginia, Feb. 2, 2025.
2:44
Eduardo Munoz/Reuters
DC plane crash: A timeline of the deadly helicopter collision
By Ivan Pereira, Meredith Deliso, Emily Shapiro
Last Updated: February 2, 2025, 10:04 PM

An American Airlines regional jet went down in the Potomac River near Washington, D.C.'s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after colliding with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night, with no survivors.

Sixty-four people were on board the plane, which departed from Wichita, Kansas. Three soldiers were on the helicopter.

The collision happened around 9 p.m. when the PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet was on approach to the airport.

PHOTO: Map of the area around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and the layout of Runway 33, which the regional American Airlines jet was approaching at the time of the collision with the Army Black Hawk helicopter, according to officials.
ABC News, Google Earth, Flightradar24, ADS-B Exchange
Map of the area around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and the layout of Runway 33, which the regional American Airlines jet was approaching at the time of the collision with the Army Black Hawk helicopter, according to officials.
ABC News, Google Earth, Flightradar24, ADS-B Exchange

Key Headlines

  • 55 victims positively identified from Potomac River crash site: Fire chief
  • Army Corps of Engineers to begin removing downed jet from Potomac on Monday
  • Army IDs 3rd Black Hawk pilot
  • Black Hawk will be lifted out of Potomac today
Here's how the news is developing.

Feb 02, 2025 10:04 PM

55 victims positively identified from Potomac River crash site: Fire chief

At least 55 victims have been positively identified from Wednesday night's midair collision between an American Airlines jet and a military Black Hawk helicopter, Fire Chief John Donnelly of the Washington, D.C., Fire Department said Sunday afternoon.

Donnelly said 11 separate sets of remains were recovered from the water on Saturday but have yet to be positively identified.

PHOTO: A plane flies over crosses near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and the helicopter that crashed into the Potomac River, in Arlington, Virginia, Feb. 2, 2025.
Eduardo Munoz/Reuters
A plane flies over crosses near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and the helicopter that crashed into the Potomac River, in Arlington, Virginia, Feb. 2, 2025.
Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

"It is my belief that we're going to recover everyone," Donnelly said.

Col. Francis Pera of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, said crews are scheduled to begin lifting large pieces of the wreckage of both aircraft from the water at dawn on Monday after spending two days surveying the debris field and rehearsing how the recovery of the wreckage will go.

Pera said wreckage will be placed on flatbed trailers and taken to a nearby hanger for investigators to analyze.

Pera said that if crews come upon more human remains, the salvage teams are prepared to pause the operation to facilitate a "dignified recovery" of the victims.


Feb 02, 2025 6:34 PM

Family members of victims visit scene of crash

Family members of the plane crash victims visited the crash site on Sunday morning.

Dozens of the victims' loved ones could be seen gathered by the Potomac River to commemorate the 67 people killed in the deadly midair collision last week.

PHOTO: Families of the victims of a mid-air collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter stand near the wreckage site in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport,  Feb. 2, 2025, in Arlington, Va.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
An American Eagle jet passes as families of the victims of a mid-air collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter stand near the wreckage site in the Potomac River at the end of the runway 33 from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Feb. 2, 2025, in Arlington, Va.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

Feb 02, 2025 1:22 AM

Army Corps of Engineers to begin removing downed jet from Potomac on Monday

The Army Corps of Engineers has released a timeline for removing the jet and helicopter wreckage from the Potomac River.

Salvage operations are set to begin on Monday, Feb. 3, according to the tentative timeline.

“The initial focus is removal of the remnants of the regional jet, which is expected to take three days," the Army Corps of Engineers said in a news release.

After that, crews will begin work to recover the Black Hawk helicopter.

"Large lifts" are expected to be completed by Saturday, Feb. 8, after which crews will focus on clearing remaining debris with salvage baskets.

The effort is expected to be completed by Feb. 12.

-ABC News' Luis Martinez



Feb 01, 2025 11:47 PM

Emotional NTSB investigator pleads for leaders to improve safety

NTSB investigator J. Todd Inman got emotional when asked about his interactions with the victims' families and others who have been directly impacted by the incident.

PHOTO: American Airlines Plane And Black Hawk Helicopter Crash Near Reagan National Airport
Al Drago/Getty Images
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - J. Todd Inman, member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), speaks with members of the media at Reagan National Airport as the search continues at the crash site of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River on January 31, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided midair with a military Black Hawk helicopter while on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. According to reports, there were no survivors among the 67 people on both aircraft. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)
Al Drago/Getty Images

"They're all just hurt and they want answers and we want to give them answers," he said. "It's horrible. No one has to suffer this."

Inman held up a challenge coin that he had in his pocket with the inscription, "From tragedy we draw knowledge to improve the safety for us all."

"We need people to take action," he said noting hundreds of recommendations that his agency has made following several transportation-related incidents.

"Adopt the recommendation of the NTSB. You'll save lives. I don't want to meet with those parents again," Inman added.


Jan 30, 2025 1:35 PM

'Absolutely' preventable, transportation secretary says

President Donald Trump posted on social media overnight, "This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented."

Asked about Trump’s comments, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters Thursday, "To back up with the president said, what I've seen so far -- do I think this was preventable? Absolutely."

PHOTO: Secretary of transportation Sean Duffy speaks at a media briefing at Reagan National Airport after a plane crashed into the Potomac River outside Washington, DC, January 30, 2025.
Ting Shen/AFP via Getty Images
Secretary of transportation Sean Duffy speaks at a media briefing at Reagan National Airport after a plane crashed into the Potomac River outside Washington, DC, January 30, 2025.
Ting Shen/AFP via Getty Images

Duffy said that "everything was standard in the lead up to the crash."

"It is not standard to have aircraft collide. Want to be clear on that, but prior to the collision, the flight paths that were being flown from the military and from American that was not unusual for what happens in the D.C. airspace," Duffy added.

Duffy said that there was no breakdown of communication.

"I don't want to say too much on the communication between the helicopter and the tower and the airline and the tower, but I will say this: There was communication," Duffy said. "It was, I would say, standard communication, so there was not a breakdown" in communication.

"The helicopter was aware that there was a plane in the area," he said.

PHOTO: Rescue boats search the waters of the Potomac River after a plane on approach to Reagan National Airport crashed into the river outside Washington, DC, January 30, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
Rescue boats search the waters of the Potomac River after a plane on approach to Reagan National Airport crashed into the river outside Washington, DC, January 30, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Officials did not give any information on the flight history and experience of pilots on both aircraft, but did say that the captain had over six years of experience with the airline and the first officer had almost two years.

Runway operations at the airport are expected to resume at 11 a.m.

-ABC News' Ayesha Ali


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