Trump Comments on Helicopter Altitude as 41 Victims Recovered from Wreckage

Former U.S. President Donald Trump remarks on a helicopter flying too high, as recovery teams retrieve 41 victims from the crash site.

Donald Trump claims that the helicopter involved in Wednesday’s fatal air crash near Washington DC “was flying too high,” but he does not offer any evidence to support this assertion.

An investigation is currently underway to determine the cause of the collision between a US Army helicopter and an American Airlines passenger plane, which resulted in the death of 67 people.

Efforts to recover the bodies of those who perished in the Potomac River are ongoing. Officials informed the BBC that 41 bodies have been recovered so far.

A professional diver informs our reporter that the primary challenge for the team searching the river will be navigating through cold, dark waters which reduce visibility to near-zero.

Investigators have successfully retrieved the flight data recorders, often referred to as black boxes, from the passenger plane’s wreckage. A preliminary report on the crash is expected to be released in 30 days.

We now have comments from Congressman Don Beyer, who represents Northern Virginia, the region where Reagan National Airport is situated.

Beyer tells Carl Nasman from the BBC that he would “prefer” the airport to be “less crowded.”

He claims that he opposed the decision to introduce additional flights into the already packed schedule at Ronald Reagan Airport. However, he emphasizes that he doesn’t want to make any judgments until the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) finishes its investigation.

The search for recovering the bodies of those killed in the Potomac River is ongoing.

As we await updates from officials in Washington DC, here are some images of the ongoing search operation on the Potomac River.

As a reminder, 67 individuals tragically lost their lives when an American Airlines passenger plane collided with a US military helicopter on Wednesday night. To date, the bodies of 41 victims have been recovered.

The quest to find the remaining 26 goes on.

Officials will soon provide an update on the crash investigation. Watch and follow live coverage.

In the coming minutes, officials in Washington DC are anticipated to provide updates on the investigation into the fatal collision between an American Airlines jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter.

For a recap of our current knowledge, you can refer to our previous post for the latest updates.

Join us as we highlight the key points from the upcoming news conference. You can also watch it live at the top of this page.