67 Dead in Midair Collision Between American Airlines Passenger Jet and Army Helicopter

Aronline.com - Arlington, Va (AP)

A massive recovery effort continued Saturday from the Potomac River where a midair collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter claiming lives has claimed 67 lives.

Recovery crews and divers have started pulling remains from the river by Friday night with only some identified so far, but authorities predicted to recover all of the deceased though the rest of the plane's wreckage needs to be pulled from the water in order to ensure complete recovery.

The cause of Wednesday night collision on American Airlines jet while flying over Washington D.C. is expected to take at least a year however officials anticipate preliminary reports within 30 days. They also investigated probable factors, including how close the helicopter was above required level (200 feet) as well as possible use of goggles for nighttime visibility.

NTSB's chief investigator told investigators that the helicopter crew were experienced pilots and familiar with congested air space around cities; yet still crash. Full investigation will be concluded once authorities have found all wreckage pieces and recoveries are done.

President Donald Trump was criticized over weekend after posting that "That's not really too complicated to understand" on social media in response to which helicopter was flying above allowed limit

Air traffic officials say, this is a great challenge for pilots but accidents still occur regularly hence need of rigorous training and safety measures. Air traffic control struggled with shortage of staff yet still they could save lives though it happened at one time only.

The recovery effort was aided by Coast guard ship equipped with crane that was positioned over wreckage area allowing divers to retrieve several bodies so far from river while awaiting retrieval of majority remains from wreckage as they were stuck underwater for quite long .