Wreckage from DC plane crash to be cleared starting Monday; 12 bodies still missing

The process of removing the debris from the fatal midair crash close to Reagan National Airport will commence on Monday morning. Authorities have mentioned that 12 of the victims have not been found yet. 

The tragic incident involved a collision between a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and a Bombardier CRJ700 airliner, which was being operated by PSA Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines. This took place on Wednesday night and resulted in the loss of 67 lives. D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly, Sr. stated on Sunday that the remains of 55 victims have been positively identified as the search operation persists.

“We are optimistic about being able to locate all the victims. However, the current whereabouts of all of them remain unknown,” said Donnelly as preparations were being made for Monday’s undertaking. 

Col. Francis Pera from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers said he anticipates “a successful lift,” noting they will cover the wreckage with a tent to protect any human remains. 

An American Airlines jet passes as family members of the victims of a midair collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter stand at the end of runway 33 near the wreckage site in the Potomac River at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, on Sunday, Feb. 2, in Arlington, Va.  (AP/Jose Luis Magana)

Pera said divers at the site are equipped with HD cameras, whose feeds are being monitored inside a support boat. 

“So you honestly, you’ve got four or five sets of eyes looking inside [the] wreckage at the same time,” he said. 

Pera also said that “reuniting those lost in the tragic incident is really what keeps us all going.”

“We’ve got teams that have been working this effort since the beginning and we’re committed to making this happen,” he said.

On Sunday, families of the victims visited the crash site.  

Connolly said while the lift operation is ongoing, local teams “will continue to search down the shorelines and around the river to make sure that we’re getting all the debris that’s out there.” 

Emergency response units search the crash site of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River on Thursday, Jan. 30. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

“And if by chance, as a member of the public, you come across some of that, you should call 911 and report it to them, and we will get it taken care of and get it examined,” he said.