DC plane crash updates: Officials recover all 67 people killed in devastating collision

WASHINGTON – Officials said Tuesday they have recovered all 67 victims in last week's devastating plane and helicopter crash outside the nation's capital, confirming they have identified 66 bodies, as crews worked to remove wreckage from the Potomac River.

Investigators at the crash site made headway in their probe of the collision of an American Airlines plane and a U.S. Army Black Hawk. Video showed cranes lifting large pieces of wreckage out of the river and placing them on a pair of U.S. Navy barges in the waterway near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in a Tuesday afternoon update it recovered several parts of the airplane, including the right wing, part of the left-wing, and substantial portions of the forward cockpit and cabin.

Authorities on Monday pulled two of the plane's engines and the fuselage from the water and started to retrieve one of its wings. Once the jet is recovered, which will take an estimated three days, crews will shift focus to the helicopter before both aircraft are brought to Hangar 7 at the nearby airport.

The wreckage will be examined as part of the probe into the cause of the collision. The NTSB said its investigators need to examine the helicopter to "verify data points," but it's unclear what they are looking to confirm.

The NTSB in recent days has interviewed five workers who were in the control tower when the two aircraft collided Wednesday night. Investigators were developing a detailed crash timeline, compiling flight data and communications between the helicopter, the passenger jet, and air traffic controllers.

NTSB says Black Hawk was flying over 200-foot maximum

The NTSB said Tuesday it was continuing to recover the wreckage of the plane from the Potomac and had received new data from the crash.

The air traffic control tower display showed the Black Hawk was flying at 300 feet at the time of the collision, the NTSB said, though that flight track data was rounded to the nearest 100 feet. Its exact altitude is still not known.

According to the latest release, it appears the helicopter exceeded the 200-foot maximum altitude assigned to the flight path it used on the night of the crash.

NTSB said it still needs to recover the wreckage of the Black Hawk, which it expects to do later this week, to verify more information about the accident. The board continues to work on recovering and analyzing data from both aircraft's black boxes.

– Zach Wichter

Remembering the victims: Students, Olympic skaters, families and more. A tribute to lives lost in the DC plane crash

Flight attendant Ian Epstein honored with cannon salute

Ian Epstein, a flight attendant aboard the doomed commercial jet that collided with a helicopter last week, was honored with a water cannon salute at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, videos show.

An American Airlines plane carrying his body as well as his family members landed at the North Carolina airport and was met by a pair of tankers that sprayed large streams of water in a show of respect and admiration for Epstein, 53.

"Ian Epstein was full of life. He loved being a flight attendant because he truly enjoyed traveling and meeting new people,'' his family said in a statement. "But his true love was his family. He was a father, a stepfather, a husband and a brother! He will be truly missed. The family appreciates the outpouring of love and support we’ve received, but at this time we would ask for privacy as we process and grieve our loss."

'Died doing what he absolutely loved': Flight attendant death confirmed in crash

Hunting group returning home among crash victims

Seven men boarded a plane together at the end of their hunting trip, headed for Maryland where their loved ones were expecting them. But they never made it home.

The group was hunting with Fowl Plains in Great Bend, Kansas, owner Chase White told USA TODAY. White said three men in the group drove home, and seven others boarded the doomed American Airlines flight that collided with an Army helicopter.

Since the crash, Fowl Plains said the group has been "laughing, talking about our families, and sharing memories."

"Heartbroken is an understatement," the group's statement read.

– Kinsey Crowley, Earle Kimel, Keith Demko and Olivia Minzola

Plane-helicopter collision: 7 men returning home from hunting trip among the victims

Data, officials suggest helicopter may have been flying above its ceiling

Investigators with the NTSB are working to confirm one of the questions at the center of the crash probe: Was the helicopter flying too high?

Officials over the weekend said the CRJ700 airplane was at 325 feet, plus or minus 25 feet, at the time of impact, suggesting the helicopter it collided with was flying much higher than the 200-foot ceiling for the route it was traveling during its training mission.

The preliminary information released over the weekend was retrieved from the jet's flight data recorder. It also seemingly contradicts the control tower's radar, which apparently showed the helicopter at 200 feet at the time of the accident, though that figure has not been confirmed, NTSB investigator Brice Banning said at a news conference.

President Donald Trump previously said the helicopter crew "should have seen where they were going." In a Friday posting on Truth Social, he said, "The Blackhawk helicopter was flying too high, by a lot. It was far above the 200-foot limit. That’s not really too complicated to understand, is it???”

Conditions complicated salvage efforts; diver hospitalized

Hundreds of personnel involved in the large recovery effort are battling difficult conditions. The icy Potomac River is murky and remains at near-freezing temperatures, according to data from the National Weather Service. Wednesday's forecast calls for a chance of snow and sleet, with a high temperature near 37 degrees.

On Monday, Washington Fire Chief John Donnelly said a diver with the city’s police department was taken to a local hospital in what he called a “hypothermia situation.”

In addition to the frigid temperatures, cloudy waters limited divers’ visibility as they navigated a large debris field. Officials were also concerned that heightened tidal conditions could further scatter the wreckage and hamper ongoing salvage operations.

Investigators interview air traffic controllers working at the time of crash

As crews on the Potomac River forged ahead with salvage operations, investigators made progress in their probe of the deadly collision.

In recent days, the NTSB investigation team obtained training and flight logs for both crews as well as maintenance logs for both the airliner and the helicopter. Investigators have also interviewed all five people working in the control tower at Reagan National Airport when the crash occurred.

The agency is working to develop a detailed timeline of the crash, synchronizing flight data and cockpit communications with the control tower’s logs and radar figures. The flight data recorder for the Black Hawk did not generate timestamps automatically, meaning investigators will have to do so manually, according to the NTSB.

A preliminary report outlining the initial phase of the investigation is expected within 30 days of the crash. The final report detailing the cause of the collision will take one to two years.

2 airport employees arrested after reportedly leaking footage of crash

Officials arrested two airport employees after they reportedly leaked video of the tragic mid-air collision.

Both employees of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) are charged in connection with making an unauthorized copy of Airports Authority records, MWAA spokesperson Rob Yingling told USA TODAY Tuesday morning.

Mohamed Lamine Mbengue, 21, of Rockville, Maryland, was charged Friday with computer trespass, a misdemeanor, Yingling said. Following further police investigation, Yingling said, Jonathan Savoy, 45, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was charged with computer trespass on Sunday.

– Natalie Neysa Alund

Arrest over video: Reagan airport employees arrested for allegedly leaking video of DC plane crash

Nearly half of the plane's passengers were returning from a skating camp

Among the 60 passengers aboard the doomed airliner were 28 people returning from a competitive figure skating development camp in Wichita, Kansas, a pilot who was to be married in the fall, a student returning home from college after a funeral and a group of friends who went on a hunting trip.

Three Chinese citizens and a colonel with the Philippine National Police also perished in the crash.

Three soldiers were on board the helicopter when the collision occurred: Capt. Rebecca Lobach, 28, of Durham, North Carolina; Chief Warrant Officer Andrew Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland; and crew member Staff Sergeant Ryan O'Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia.

Young skaters were 'on the cusp' of their careers

Retired skater and Olympian Polina Edmunds, who attended the development camp where nearly half of the airliner's passengers were returning from, said the collision has rocked the figure skating community. Edmunds said she has spent the last few days reveling in the talents of the young skaters, watching videos of their prized choreography and skills.

"I'm so happy that they were able to achieve what they did at such a young age already and be able to be a part of this elite skating community," she said, adding: "I'm so grateful that I was able to encounter them and their spirits throughout their journey."

The 11 young skaters, their families, and coaches sacrificed their time and money to reach their levels of success, Edmunds said, but most of all, exhibited discipline, dedication, and love for the sport.

"These kids were really just on the cusp of getting a taste of what success looks like if they keep working hard and keep doing what they're doing," Edmunds said. "It's still unbelievable."

– Sam Woodward

Contributing: Minnah Arshad, John Bacon, Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY; Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DC plane crash updates: Officials recover all 67 people killed