Last updated: 9 p.m.
The Associated Press is reporting that the cockpit voice and flight data recorders have been recovered from the American Airlines passenger jet that exploded in a collision over the Potomac River on Wednesday.
“The recorders are at the NTSB labs for evaluation,” National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson Peter Knudson said.
Original article follows
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — There were no survivors from the collision Wednesday night of an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The plane was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members at the time of the crash late Wednesday. Three soldiers were on board the helicopter.
Officials said flight conditions were clear as the jet was arriving from Wichita, Kansas. Bryce Banning, NTSB senior aviation accident investigator, said Thursday he will lead the investigation. He said the agency will not be determining the final cause nor entertain speculation right now, and a preliminary report is expected in 30 days.
NTSB officials have named the various organizations and companies they will be partnering with in the investigation, including the Air Line Pilots Association, FAA, and U.S. Army.
ABC News reporter Perry Russom joined KYW’s Michelle Durham from Washington, D.C., with the latest details.
Michelle Durham: Perry, good afternoon. Thank you for joining us. Can we start with the latest from the scene?
Perry Russom: Sure, so the latest from the scene is dive teams are done for the day. About 40 bodies have been recovered so far, so they're still missing 27.
They believe that those 27 people are still inside the plane, so they will have to wait to be extracted from the wreckage until the plane is taken to the surface of the water.
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The NTSB had a news conference not too long ago. They really did not want to speculate on the cause of the crash. They just don't have enough information just yet.
They do not have the flight data recorders. They are still in the water. Some things they're going to be looking at in their investigation: impact angles, altitude, the engines, looking at air traffic control systems.
This is really their first full day on the scene. They're gonna be looking at the humans involved, the machines, the environment, and they are really asking for patience. They want to take some time to make sure they gather all the facts before they point to an exact cause as to why this happened.
Now, Perry, can you explain the different flight patterns of Reagan National because they're different from almost any other airport in the country because of the near constant presence of military and commercial aircraft at the same time.
Right, so I've lived in D.C. for about a year now, and we hear helicopters all the time, and they fly very low. I mean, I'm at the point now where I hear a helicopter and I go, that's a Black Hawk, that's an osprey, that's a park ranger service.
The flight pattern for some of these Blackhawks when they go down the Potomac, they are very low—about 250 feet above the water. And something they're going to be looking at in this investigation is was this Blackhawk too high in elevation? Did he get above the threshold it was supposed to be at, which caused this collision? I want to be really careful and not cast blame, but I know that is something they're going to be looking at.
And also air traffic control systems. What was communication like? Did both air traffic control and the Black Hawk hear each other? Because something that could happen is, if they're both talking to each other at the same time, they cancel each other out and cannot hear each other. They can't talk over each other on these communication systems from what we're being told.
So I know from your reporting that the NTSB will handle the investigation of the American Airlines jet. What role will the Pentagon play in the investigation of the Black Hawk?
Really, everybody in the government is involved with this. We heard from the newly named Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth today, who was kind of putting a pause on some of these different training flights. They really want to figure out why this happened.
And something that some lawmakers here in D.C. have been talking about is DCA being overworked? Are there too many planes coming in and out of that airport?
I had a conversation with Sen. Tim Kaine today, from Virginia, and he did not really want to say that's the exact reason, but he says, he's been ringing the alarm bell about the possibility of DCA being overworked, but that's really all going to come down to the NTSB. Because they want to find out what happened, why it happened, and then recommend changes to prevent it from happening again.
But you know, you just think about the 67 people involved in this and their families—an unimaginable loss for them. So, while we're talking about the investigation and the politicking behind the scenes, it really is important to remember those directly affected in this entire tragic situation.
Absolutely, including some with ties to our area. Now, Perry, I know the president did blame previous administrations for some of the hiring practices of air traffic controllers, but it's certainly no secret that our country is facing a shortage of them. And today we heard a few reports alluding to the fact that they might have been shorthanded that night. What are you hearing?
So the way that we at ABC News are caveating that reporting is, yes, there is a nationwide shortage on air traffic control, but there is no shortage at DCA.
From our transportation reporter here who's been sending out emails to all of us, the caveat that he is saying to us is, yes, sometimes air traffic controllers are asked to do two jobs at once. It is not out of the ordinary for that to happen.
But, as the NTSB has been highlighting countless times today, they want to make sure that no blame is cast until all the information is gathered, [until] they can comprehend everything and then give it in a format that is understandable to the general public.
But they also did say if something does come out in their investigation that they believe the public should know right away, they will let us know on that.