Families of DC plane crash victims visit site as 55 bodies recovered - and rescue team reveals 'horrors' in river

3 February 2025, 09:51 | Updated: 3 February 2025, 09:54

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
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. Picture: Alamy

By Emma Soteriou

The families of victims of the deadliest US air disaster in nearly 25 years have visited the crash site - as bodies continue to be recovered from the Potomac River.

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Dozens of people walked along the banks of the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport, close to where an American Airlines plane and an army Black Hawk helicopter collided on Wednesday, killing all 67 aboard.

They arrived in buses with a police escort, remembering loved ones as federal investigators work to piece together the events that led to the crash and recovery crews prepared to pull more wreckage from the water.

The flight had been preparing to land from Wichita, Kansas, when it collided with the military helicopter.

It was confirmed on Sunday evening that 55 of the victims had been recovered - an increase from the 42 previously accounted for.

Authorities are continuing to search for the remaining 12.

Read more: Horrifying near-miss between passenger plane and helicopter just 24 hours before American Airlines crash killed 67

Read more: Seven dead after medical plane carrying sick child erupts into fireball and crashes into Philadelphia neighbourhood

American Airlines Plane And Black Hawk Helicopter Crash Near Reagan National Airport
American Airlines Plane And Black Hawk Helicopter Crash Near Reagan National Airport. Picture: Getty

Washington DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said he believed the remaining bodies would be found but where they are located remains unknown.

"If we knew where they were, though, we would already have taken them out," he said.

"So we have some work to do as this salvage operation goes on, and we will absolutely stay here and search until such point as we have everybody."

A "lifting operation" is set to take place on Monday, pulling the wreckage from the river.

Parts of then aircraft will then be taken to a hangar for further investigation.

More than 300 responders have been involved in recovery efforts at any given time.

However, it has proven challenging, with one diver being rushed to hospital with hypothermia.

An unidentified firefighter told one reporter that he and others were "emotionally wiped out after seeing the horror up close".

The water is "actually very clear", he said, meaning "they saw horrible things when they arrived".

Search and rescue operations continue in Washington D.C. after midair crash

The plane's passengers included figure skaters returning from the 2025 US. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas, and a group of hunters returning from a guided trip.

Army Staff Sergeant Ryan Austin O'Hara, 28; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, and Captain Rebecca M Lobach were killed in the helicopter.

The National Transportation Safety Board said on Saturday that preliminary data showed conflicting readings about the altitudes of the plane and the helicopter.

Investigators also said that about a second before impact, the plane's flight recorder showed a change in its pitch. But they did not say whether that change in angle meant that pilots were trying to perform an evasive manoeuvre to avoid the crash.

Data from the plane's flight recorder showed its altitude as 325 feet, plus or minus 25 feet, when the crash happened, NTSB officials told reporters.

Data in the control tower, though, showed the Black Hawk at 200 feet, the maximum allowed altitude for helicopters in the area.

The discrepancy has yet to be explained.