ARLINGTON, Virginia, USA (AP) — Police boats returned to the Potomac River on Friday as part of the recovery and investigation following a mid-air collision between a passenger plane and a military helicopter that killed 67 people, the deadliest air disaster in the United States in almost a quarter of a century.
More than 40 bodies have been recovered from the river as the huge recovery effort continues, police officials informed The Associated Press on Friday. The officials were not authorized to discuss details of the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The researchers have already recovered the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder from the American Airlines plane that collided with an Army helicopter as the plane was landing Wednesday night at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. Officials are examining a series of factors in what National Transportation Safety Board chairwoman Jennifer Hommendy has called an "all on board event."
All the people traveling in the two aircrafts died, and authorities are analyzing the maneuvers of the military pilot as well as air traffic control after the helicopter apparently flew into the path of the American Airlines jet.
Air accident investigations can take months, and federal investigators told reporters on Thursday that they will not speculate on the cause.
On Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth indicated on Fox News that authorities are still searching for the black box recorder of the helicopter.