The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), in coordination with the US Supervisor of Salvage, has recovered the fuselage, right engine, and right pylon of American Airlines flight 5342 from the Potomac River on February 4, 2025.
The American Airlines CRJ700 crashed into the Potomac River, outside of Washington, D.C, after colliding with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter on January 29, 2025. The mid-air collision claimed a total of 67 lives.
In a statement the NTSB confirmed that salvage teams will also recover the Black Hawk helicopter from the river, after the CRJ-700 jet has been fully removed.
It has also been confirmed that the NTSB investigative team has obtained training and flight logs for both flight crews and maintenance logs for both aircraft. The board’s human performance group is building several day histories for both flight crews to include their daily activities, while its air traffic control group has completed interviews of all five staffed positions in the tower.
The NTSB is expected to release a preliminary report within a month following the accident.