Restoration efforts in Washington helicopter aircraft collision determine 55 of 67 victims

WASHINGTON -Officers have positively recognized 55 of the 67 folks killed in Wednesday’s midair collision between an American Airways passenger jet and a navy helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.

“It is my perception that we will get better everybody,” Fireplace Chief John Donnelly mentioned on Sunday at a press convention. “Now we have some work to do because the salvage operation goes on.”

On Monday, the Military Corps of Engineers will start lifting the wreckage from the river, which officers have mentioned might take per week or longer.

“Now we have a large particles area,” mentioned Colonel Francis Pera of the U.S. Military Corps of Engineers. “Inside that broad particles area, we’re using totally different strategies to ensure we are able to perceive what’s within the water.”

Work shall be halted as stays are found throughout elimination operations, officers added.

Earlier on Sunday, kin of the 67 folks killed arrived on the fringe of the river close to the crash website on buses.

Wreckage is being moved to a hangar at Washington Reagan Nationwide Airport. A lot of the Potomac River stays restricted to licensed vessels. Two of the lesser-used runways on the airport stay closed.

Investigators from the Nationwide Transportation Security Board mentioned Saturday they’d decided the CRJ-700 airplane was at 325 toes , plus or minus 25 toes, on the time of impression.

The data was primarily based on information recovered from the jet’s flight information recorder – the “black field” that tracks the plane’s actions, pace and different parameters.

The brand new element suggests the Military helicopter was flying above 200 toes , the utmost altitude for the route it was utilizing.

Information confirms the air visitors controller alerted the helicopter to the presence of the CRJ-700 about two minutes earlier than the crash.

One second earlier than impression, the American flight crew had a “verbal response,” in accordance with the aircraft’s cockpit voice recorder, and flight information reveals the aircraft’s nostril started to rise, officers mentioned.

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