Efforts to retrieve debris from a midair collision in the Potomac River resume following a plane crash in DC.

Crews were present at the Potomac River to recover the submerged wreckage of an airliner and an Army helicopter that collided midair, marking the deadliest U.S. air disaster since 2001.

Authorities have identified 55 out of the 67 individuals who lost their lives in the crash. Washington, D.C., Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly expressed confidence in finding all the victims. The process of lifting the wreckage was set to commence on Monday, with crews spotted on a vessel equipped with a crane at daybreak.

Over 300 responders were actively involved in the recovery operation at any given time. Additionally, two Navy barges were deployed to assist in lifting the heavier sections of wreckage.

Divers and salvage workers are adhering to strict protocols and will stop moving debris if a body is found, Col. Francis B. Pera of the Army Corps of Engineers said Sunday. The “dignified recovery” of remains takes precedence over all else, he said.

Portions of the two aircraft that collided over the river Wednesday night near Reagan Washington National Airport – an American Airlines jet with 64 people aboard and an Army Black Hawk helicopter with 3 aboard – will be loaded onto flatbed trucks and taken to a hangar for investigation.

The crash occurred when the jet, en route from Wichita, Kansas, was about to land. The Black Hawk was on a training mission. There were no survivors.

On Sunday, family members were taken in buses with a police escort to the Potomac River bank near where the two aircraft came to rest after colliding.

The plane’s passengers included figure skaters returning from the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita and a group of hunters returning from a guided trip. Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland; and Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach, of Durham, North Carolina, were in the helicopter.

Federal investigators were working to piece together the events that led to the collision. Full investigations typically take a year or more. Investigators hope to have a preliminary report within 30 days.

Wednesday’s crash was the deadliest in the U.S. since Nov. 12, 2001, when a jet slammed into a New York City neighborhood just after takeoff, killing all 260 people on board and five on the ground.

Experts stress that plane travel is overwhelmingly safe, but the crowded airspace around Reagan Airport can challenge even experienced pilots.