Divers continued to search cold and murky waters in the Potomac River for victims of the Flight 5342 crash, where the American Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 plummeted after colliding with an Army H-60 Blackhawk helicopter.
The National Transportation Safety Board assembled its full onsite investigation team Thursday, as some debris from the downed aircraft was already being collected. The disaster claimed the lives of 64 passengers and crew on the airliner and three Army aviators.
The NTSB mobilized its family assistance group as relatives of Flight 5342 were arriving in Washington, said NTSB board member J. Todd Inman, who is serving as the board’s designated spokesman during the investigation, during an afternoon press conference.
The passengers included U.S. and Russian figure skaters, coaches and family members traveling after the U.S. Figure Skating championships concluded Sunday in Wichita, Kansas.
“We will find out what happened and we will do it factually,” Inman said of the worst U.S. air disaster in a quarter-century. “The loss of life in an aviation accident is very unusual in the United States.”
Investigators have not yet located flight data recorders from the wreckage. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy expressed confidence that once found the recorders will yield information through analysis by NTSB’s nearby laboratory and Department of Defense. On Thursday evening the American Airlines recorder was reported to be onshore and headed for the NTSB office.
“Right now we’re going through the debris fields,” said Inman.
“This is a whole-of-government effort,” said Homendy.
The agency aims to have a preliminary accident report within 30 days, said Inman. The Federal Aviation Administration delivered a large file of air traffic control information to the NTSB early Thursday morning, he said.
About 50 divers were working around the scene, Ed Kelly, general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, told CNN.
Rescue operations coordinated by the Coast Guard shifted to a recovery effort around 4 a.m. By 8 a.m. it was clear there were no survivors, and 28 bodies were recovered, said Chief John Donnelly of the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services.