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Officials identify 66 of 67 US plane crash victims

Rescue teams are continuing to remove plane crash wreckage from the Potomac River.

Rescue teams are continuing to remove plane crash wreckage from the Potomac River. Photo: AAP

Washington officials have positively identified 66 of the 67 people killed in last week’s midair collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a military helicopter over the Potomac River.

A joint statement from agencies said all 67 bodies have been recovered.

Work continues by the US Army Corps of Engineers to remove the airplane wreckage from the Potomac River near Washington’s Reagan National Airport.

Officials plan to begin removing the helicopter wreckage on Wednesday (local time).

Following the crash, the US Federal Aviation Administration has imposed significant restrictions on helicopter flights around Reagan National until at least late February. Two of airport’s lesser-used runways remain closed.

Investigators from the NTSB have said they had determined the CRJ-700 plane that had departed from Wichita, Kansas, was flying at an altitude of 99 metres at the time of impact.

The NTSB said on Tuesday that updated data showed the Black Hawk was flying at 91.5 metres on the air traffic control display at the time of the collision.

The data indicates the Army Black Hawk helicopter was flying above 61 metres, the maximum altitude for the route it was using.

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom spoke to US President Donald Trump on Monday, according to an email sent to employees on Tuesday, adding Trump had offered condolences for crew members, passengers and their loved ones.

“President Trump also made clear that aviation safety is a priority for his administration,” Isom said.

Isom praised the FAA for “limiting helicopter traffic near” Reagan.

The National Transportation Safety Board has completed interviews with air traffic controllers and obtained training and flight logs for both flight crews and maintenance records for both aircraft.

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy told Reuters the organisation would look at prior near-miss incidents between helicopters and airplanes around Washington Reagan and could expand the investigation “to other areas where there’s military helicopter and air traffic”.

Data confirmed previously that the air traffic controller alerted the helicopter to the presence of the CRJ-700 about two minutes before the collision.

-AAP

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