New pics of doomed DC plane’s wreckage released

All “major pieces” from the deadly midair crash between an American Airlines plane and a Black Hawk helicopter have been recovered as an investigation into the tragedy continues.

All of the wreckage of an American Airlines flight and Black Hawk helicopter has been recovered from Washington DC’s icy Potomac River as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) continued to investigate the tragic mid-air crash, which killed 67 people, on January 29.

“Now that the major pieces of the plane and helicopter have been recovered, they will be transported to a “secure airport facility for further examination and documentation,” the NTSB said in a statement.

An investigator inspects the wreckage of an American Airlines plane which crashed after colliding with a Black Hawk helicopter. Picture: NTSB

The investigation into what caused the fatal accident is ongoing. Picture: NTSB

“Investigators will be looking for witness marks on the aircraft that could provide clues to the angle of [the] collision,” the statement read.

“Teams also recovered the [commercial plane’s] Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) and retrieved additional avionics from the Black Hawk.”

The tragic crash happened on January 29 near Reagan National Airport in Virginia, just kilometres from the White House. There were 64 people on board the plane and three US military personnel on the helicopter.

Surveillance cameras caught the fiery explosion, which lit up the sky just seconds after the two aircraft collided before plunging into the river below.

The National Safety Board in the US said all “major pieces” of the plane and the helicopter had been recovered. Picture: NTSB

Investigators inspect the wing of the doomed American Airlines flight. Picture: NTSB

The helicopter was flying a training mission to requalify the pilots for flight in the area — something they’d done several times before, according to deputy director of aviation for the Army Col. Mark Ott.

One air traffic controller was responsible for co-ordinating helicopter traffic and arriving and departing planes when the collision happened, according to a report by the Federal Aviation Administration that was obtained by The Associated Press.

A wing of American Airlines flight 5342 is lifted from the Potomac River during recovery efforts. Picture: Getty Images via AFP

A plane lifts off from Reagan National Airport near Washington DC as a crew works to remove debris from of the Potomac River during recovery efforts. Picture: Getty Images via AFP

Divers spent the five days after the crash recovering all of the victims’ bodies.

“A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration TopoBathy lidar survey from a manned NOAA aircraft was conducted this morning and identified multiple underwater targets that could be additional aircraft debris,” the release added. “Divers investigated those targets today and will continue that work this week.”

American Airlines flight 5342 had taken off from Wichita, Kansas, and was about to land in Washington, DC when the collision occurred.

Salvage crews have recovered the bodies of all 67 people killed when a passenger plane and a US Army helicopter collided near Washington and plunged into the Potomac River, officials said.