Remains of all victims of airplane and helicopter crash have been found

Arlington, Virginia. Authorities said Tuesday that the bodies of all 67 people killed in the midair crash between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines flight near the country’s capital last week had been found.

According to a news release from officials, the chief medical examiner is still working to positively identify one set of remains.

In a joint statement, the municipal and federal agencies involved—including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Navy dive teams, and Washington, D.C., police and fire crews—said, “Our hearts are with the victims’ families as they navigate this tragic loss.”

As teams attempted to retrieve the jetliner’s cockpit and other components from the Potomac River, the news was released. The wind and tidal conditions in the river, where the plane crashed last Wednesday night, killing all those on board after crashing as it was ready to land at nearby Ronald Reagan National Airport, officials said their work may be dependent on those factors.

Crews were observed removing sizable fragments of the aircraft from the river throughout the day. Additional updates from the scene will not be provided, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Early in the operation, authorities stated that they anticipated recovering the remains of every deceased person. Later this week, they hope to recover the Black Hawk chopper, but for now, they are concentrating on the plane.

Salvage personnel were able to remove one of the two jet engines and sizable portions of the aircraft’s exterior from the river on Monday, according to Army Corps of Engineers Col. Francis B. Pera. Additionally, they were attempting to retrieve one of the plane’s wings that had taken off from Wichita, Kansas.

Figure skaters returning from the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita were among the 60 passengers and four crew members on the American Airlines flight.

The Black Hawk had a mission of training. On board were Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O. Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia; Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach, of Durham, North Carolina; and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland.

The events leading up to the incident are being pieced together by federal investigators. Investigators aim to have a preliminary report within 30 days, but full investigations usually take a year or longer.

Since Nov. 12, 2001, when a flight crashed into a neighborhood in New York City shortly after takeoff, killing all 260 passengers on board and five on the ground, Wednesday’s tragedy was the worst in the United States.