By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Washington, D.C. officials have now positively identified 66 of the 67 people killed in Wednesday’s midair collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a military helicopter over the Potomac River.
A joint statement from agencies said on Tuesday all 67 bodies have been recovered. Work continues by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to remove the airplane wreckage from the Potomac River near Washington’s Reagan National Airport. Officials plan to begin removing the helicopter wreckage on Wednesday.
In the aftermath of the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration has imposed significant restrictions on helicopter flights around Reagan National until at least late February and two of the lesser-used runways remain closed.
Investigators from the NTSB have said they had determined that the CRJ-700 airplane that had departed from Wichita, Kansas, was flying at an altitude of 325 feet (99 meters), plus or minus 25 feet, at the time of impact.
The NTSB said Tuesday updated data shows the Black Hawk was flying at 300 feet (91.5 meters) on the air traffic control display at the time of the collision.
The data indicates the Army Black Hawk helicopter was flying above 200 feet (61 meters), the maximum altitude for the route it was using.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom spoke to President Donald Trump on Monday, according to an email sent to employees on Tuesday, adding the president offered condolences for crew members, passengers and their loved ones.
“President Trump also made clear that aviation safety is a priority for his administration,” Isom added in his note.
Isom praised the FAA for “limiting helicopter traffic near” Reagan.
The National Transportation Safety Board has completed interviews with air traffic controllers and obtained training and flight logs for both flight crews and maintenance records for both aircraft.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told Reuters on Monday the NTSB plans to look at prior near-miss incidents between helicopters and airplanes around Washington Reagan and could expand the investigation “to other areas where there’s military helicopter and air traffic.”
Data confirmed previously that the air traffic controller alerted the helicopter to the presence of the CRJ-700 about 2 minutes before the collision.
(Reporting by David Shepardson and Jasper Ward; Editing by Leslie Adler and Sandra Maler)
