Remains Recovered, Investigation Continues After Capital Midair Collision
Authorities announced Tuesday that the remains of all 67 victims of last week’s devastating midair collision between an American Airlines flight and an Army Black Hawk helicopter near the nation’s capital have been recovered, The Associated Press reports.
All but one of the victims has been identified.
The collision occurred last Wednesday night as the American Airlines flight, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members from Wichita, Kansas, was approaching Ronald Reagan National Airport. Among the passengers were figure skaters returning from the 2025 US Figure Skating Championships.
The Black Hawk helicopter was on a training mission, carrying 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.
Authorities had initially expressed confidence in recovering all remains. The focus now shifts to retrieving the wreckage of both aircraft, with efforts underway to recover the helicopter later this week.
On Monday, salvage crews successfully pulled one of the jet’s engines from the Potomac River, along with significant portions of the aircraft’s exterior, according to Col. Francis B. Pera of the Army Corps of Engineers. Crews working in challenging, choppy conditions also raised a number of large pieces of the jetliner, including the right wing, center fuselage, and parts of the forward cabin, cockpit, tail cone and rudder.
Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is delving into data suggesting the helicopter may have been flying above its authorized 200-foot light ceiling at the time of the collision. While the airport’s air traffic control screen indicated the helicopter was at 300 feet, that figure would have been rounded to the nearest 100 feet, according to authorities.
Data from the jet’s flight recorder indicated its altitude at 325 feet, with a margin of error of plus or minus 25 feet.
The chief medical examiner is working to positively identify the final set of remains. Federal investigators are meticulously working to reconstruct the events leading up to the catastrophic collision. While full investigations typically span a year or more, officials aim to release a preliminary report within 30 days.
Last Wednesday’s crash was the deadliest in the US since the November 12, 2001, crash in New York City, which killed all 260 people on board and five on the ground.
