Crews Storm Potomac River to recover wreckage from DC midair collision
Crews stormed the Potomac River on Monday to retrieve the submerged wreckage of an airliner and an Army helicopter that collided midair in the deadliest U.S. air disaster since 2001.
Recall that authorities had earlier recovered and identified 55 of the 67 people killed in the crash. And Washington, D.C., Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly has said they are confident all will be found. Meanwhile, Crews began the work of lifting the wreckage on Monday as expected
Officials said. More than 300 responders were taking part in the recovery effort at a given time, while two Navy barges were also deployed to lift heavy wreckage.
Officials further noted that Divers and salvage workers are adhering to strict protocols and will stop moving debris if a body is found, Col. Francis B. Pera of the Army Corps of Engineers said Sunday. The “dignified recovery” of remains takes precedence over all else, he said.
Portions of the two aircraft that collided over the river Wednesday night near Reagan Washington National Airport, an American Airlines jet with 64 people aboard and an Army Black Hawk helicopter with 3 aboard — will be loaded onto flatbed trucks and taken to a hangar for investigation.
The crash occurred when the jet, en route from Wichita Kansas was about to land. The Black Hawk was on a training mission. There were no survivors.
On Sunday, family members were taken in buses with a police escort to the Potomac River bank near where the two aircraft came to rest after colliding.
The plane’s passengers include figure skaters returning from the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita and a group of hunters returning from a guided trip. Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland; and Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach of Durham, North Carolina, were in the helicopter.
Federal investigators were working to piece together the events that led to the collision.
