The remains of all 67 people who were killed in the Washington, D.C. plane crash last week have been recovered, authorities announced Tuesday, adding that all but one of the victims has been positively identified.
“This marks a significant step in bringing closure to the families and the community,” said a statement by the operation’s Unified Command.
The Washington, D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is working to identify the final crash victim.
The victims were killed Wednesday night when a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter operated by three soldiers collided with American Eagle Flight 5342 as it descended into Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia around 9 p.m. The plane was en route from Wichita, Kansas with 64 people on board.
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No one survived the collision. The accident is the deadliest American aviation disaster in 16 years.
Investigators on Monday recovered the aft fuselage, right engine and right pylon of the airplane. Authorities previously said they would need to recover additional parts of the aircraft to locate all remains.
Officials now will work to clear the remainder of the wreckages from the Potomac River, where the jet operated by American Airlines and the helicopter went down. Salvage operations are ongoing with a commitment to the dignified recovery of any additional remains, authorities said.
On Tuesday, investigators recovered the airplane’s right wing, center fuselage, part of the left wing and left fuselage, significant portions of the forward cabin and cockpit, vertical and horizontal stabilizers, tail cone, rudder, elevators, TCAS computer and quick access recorder.
Anyone who finds parts of the plane or belongings washed up on Potomac or Anacostia River shorelines is asked to call 911. People are asked not to touch the items as they can be critical in supporting impacted families as well as the investigation.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy Supervisor of Salvage and Diving will hoist major components of the regional jet from the water through Wednesday. Once that’s complete, efforts will shift to recovering additional wreckage from the Black Hawk helicopter.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the lead investigative agency, is working to determine the cause of the accident. A preliminary report is due 30 days from the date of the incident. Little is known about what might’ve caused the incident, but investigators this weekend said they believed the helicopter was flying at 300 feet, 100 feet higher than its allowed altitude.
The collision occurred between 300 to 350 feet. The NTSB said it needed additional information from the helicopter to verify data points. Officials expect to pull the Sikorsky UH-60 Military Helicopter from the water this week.
The US Department of Transportation put significant restrictions on helicopters flying along Route 4, a route typically flown by Black Hawks as commercial jets fly above them, following the crash.
Several people on board the flight belonged to figure skating communities near Washington, D.C. and Boston, Massachusetts. Many of the victims were children and their parents who were returning to the area after participating in the National Development Camp in Wichita, which brings together about 150 young skaters annually.
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Other victims belonged to the United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters in Maryland.
Authorities said there was a delay in identifying the victims because some of their next of kin reside overseas. Families had been asked to come to the airport to identify their loved ones’ remains.
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