In brief
Investigators are assessing the wreckage of an American Airlines jet as recovery crews work to find remaining victims in the Potomac River after last week's tragic accident.
On Monday morning, salvage crews initiated the recovery of wreckage from American Airlines Flight 5342, which crashed into the Potomac River after colliding with a U.S. Army helicopter last week. The operation, anticipated to last three days, started around 10 a.m. Eastern when a crane lifted a plane engine from the river's depths.Earlier in the day, vessels and crew assembled on-site to assist the recovery efforts. Colonel Francis Pera from the Army Corps of Engineers indicated that the salvage work would likely uncover the bodies of missing victims from the incident. Tragically, of the 64 passengers aboard the jet and three crew members in the helicopter, none survived. As of Sunday, the remains of 55 victims had been recovered, and teams are diligently searching the frigid waters for others.Once lifted, the wreckage will be transported to a local hangar for further investigation to uncover the circumstances surrounding the collision, which happened in clear weather as the jet was nearing Ronald Reagan National Airport around 9 p.m. last Wednesday. Federal authorities have emphasized it is too soon to ascertain the specific crash causes, though the incident has raised alarms concerning airport safety, congestion, and staffing issues at one of the busiest airports in the U.S.
