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All the wreckage from the plane and helicopter has been retrieved from the frozen Potomac River, while the National Transportation Safety Board continues its investigation into the mid-air collision on January 29 that resulted in the deaths of 67 individuals.
Following the recovery of the main components of the American Airlines plane and the Black Hawk helicopter, they will be transferred to a secure airport location for further analysis and documentation, as stated in a press release issued on Saturday.
Investigators will be examining the aircraft for any marks left by the collision, which could offer insights into the angle of impact. Additionally, the Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) from the commercial plane and extra avionics from the Black Hawk have been retrieved by the teams.
The tragic crash happened on Jan. 29 near Reagan National Airport in Virginia.
Surveillance cameras caught the disaster’s fiery orange explosion, which engulfed the sky just seconds after the two aircraft made contact before plummeting into the river below.
The plane carried 60 passengers, including Brooklyn’s Melissa Nicandri, and four crew members, and three soldiers were aboard the helicopter.
The helicopter was flying a training mission to re-qualify the pilots for flight in the area — something they’d done several times before, according to deputy director of aviation for the Army Col. Mark Ott.
One air traffic controller was responsible for coordinating helicopter traffic and arriving and departing planes when the collision happened, according to a report by the Federal Aviation Administration that was obtained by The Associated Press.
Divers spent the five days after the crash recovering all of the victims’ bodies.
“A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration TopoBathy lidar survey from a manned NOAA aircraft was conducted this morning and identified multiple underwater targets that could be additional aircraft debris,” the release added. “Divers investigated those targets today and will continue that work this week.”
American Airlines flight 5342 had taken off from Wichita, Kansas, and was about to land in Washington, DC, when the crash occurred.