American Airlines Plane Will Have to Be Removed Before All Bodies Can Be Recovered: D.C. Authorities

Mar. 15, 2025

American Airlines aircraft wreckage in the Potomac River on January, 30.Photo:Petty Officer 1st Class Brandon Giles/ U.S. Coast Guard via Getty

Petty Officer 1st Class Brandon Giles/ U.S. Coast Guard via Getty

The wreckage of the American Airlines passenger jet thatcollided midairwith a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter will need to be removed in order to recover the bodies of more victims of the deadly crash, according to authorities.“For us to recover the rest of the remains,” D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly said during a news briefing on Friday, Jan. 31, “we going to need to get the [plane] out of the water.Donnelly said the bodies of 41 victims have already been recovered from the water, while 28 of those victims have been positively identified. He added, “As of 6 a.m. this morning, next of kin notifications have been made to 18 families.”Asked at another point in the press conference if authorities were confident they knew the location of the remaining bodies, Donnelly replied, “we think we know,” and reiterated the need to remove the aircraft from the water.“We expect to recover all of the bodies. That’s why our teams are still working,” he said, but cautioned that they don’t have a timeline to share just yet, but that they’re “working as fast as we can.“The site of American Airlines flight 5342, which crashed into the Potomac River after colliding with a military Black Hawk helicopter.Alex Wong/GettyIn an earlier NTSBpress conferenceon Thursday, Jan. 30, officials echoed their position that the crash hadno survivors. They said that investigators were still working at the scene, but that they had not yet seen any evidence thatsuggested slides or chutes had been deployed.“It was a very quick, rapid impact,” said NTSB board member J. Todd Inman. “We’ve seen nothing in that regard so far from the evidence we have, but we still need to verify all of that information.”During the same press conference, NTSB chairwoman Jennifer Homendy remarked, “We are all here because this is an all-hands-on-deck event. And we’re here to assure the American people that we are going to leave no stone unturned in this investigation.“We are going to conduct a thorough investigation of this entire tragedy looking at the facts,” Homendy added.The passenger flight departed from Wichita, Kan., and was approaching Reagan National Airport in D.C. before colliding with the military aircraft over the Potomac River around 9 p.m. local time, according to a statement from the FAA to PEOPLE.There were 60 passengers and four crew members on the American Airlines plane, and three soldiers on the U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter at the time.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.During an earlier press conference on Thursday, Donnelly highlighted that the American Airlines crash incident switched from a “search and rescue operation” to a “recovery” operation.“The District Office of the Medical Examiner has led on reuniting these bodies and these people with their loved ones and we will continue to work to find all the bodies and collect them and reunite them with their loved ones,” Donnelly added.

The wreckage of the American Airlines passenger jet thatcollided midairwith a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter will need to be removed in order to recover the bodies of more victims of the deadly crash, according to authorities.

“For us to recover the rest of the remains,” D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly said during a news briefing on Friday, Jan. 31, “we going to need to get the [plane] out of the water.

Donnelly said the bodies of 41 victims have already been recovered from the water, while 28 of those victims have been positively identified. He added, “As of 6 a.m. this morning, next of kin notifications have been made to 18 families.”

Asked at another point in the press conference if authorities were confident they knew the location of the remaining bodies, Donnelly replied, “we think we know,” and reiterated the need to remove the aircraft from the water.

“We expect to recover all of the bodies. That’s why our teams are still working,” he said, but cautioned that they don’t have a timeline to share just yet, but that they’re “working as fast as we can.”

The site of American Airlines flight 5342, which crashed into the Potomac River after colliding with a military Black Hawk helicopter.Alex Wong/Getty

Alex Wong/Getty

In an earlier NTSBpress conferenceon Thursday, Jan. 30, officials echoed their position that the crash hadno survivors. They said that investigators were still working at the scene, but that they had not yet seen any evidence thatsuggested slides or chutes had been deployed.

“It was a very quick, rapid impact,” said NTSB board member J. Todd Inman. “We’ve seen nothing in that regard so far from the evidence we have, but we still need to verify all of that information.”

During the same press conference, NTSB chairwoman Jennifer Homendy remarked, “We are all here because this is an all-hands-on-deck event. And we’re here to assure the American people that we are going to leave no stone unturned in this investigation.

“We are going to conduct a thorough investigation of this entire tragedy looking at the facts,” Homendy added.

The passenger flight departed from Wichita, Kan., and was approaching Reagan National Airport in D.C. before colliding with the military aircraft over the Potomac River around 9 p.m. local time, according to a statement from the FAA to PEOPLE.

There were 60 passengers and four crew members on the American Airlines plane, and three soldiers on the U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter at the time.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

During an earlier press conference on Thursday, Donnelly highlighted that the American Airlines crash incident switched from a “search and rescue operation” to a “recovery” operation.

“The District Office of the Medical Examiner has led on reuniting these bodies and these people with their loved ones and we will continue to work to find all the bodies and collect them and reunite them with their loved ones,” Donnelly added.

source: people.com