Helicopter black box recovered from Washington DC plane crash site

In the plane crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday, which resulted in 67 fatalities, officials have recovered the cockpit voice recorder, commonly known as the "black box," from the helicopter involved. Emergency responders are planning to intensify their efforts over the weekend to recover the wreckage from the crash site.

At the time of the accident, an American Airlines flight carrying 64 passengers collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers. Subsequently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has restricted helicopter traffic around the airport due to concerns expressed by officials about the excessive congestion of airspace over the airport.

As of Friday, 28 victims have been identified, and 41 bodies have been recovered from the water. Officials stated that the remaining bodies will only be found after officials lift the aircraft from the riverbed. Investigators found the black box from the passenger plane wreckage the day after the collision. Todd Inman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), told reporters on Friday evening that they will be able to access the data from the recorder "soon" after it has been soaked and the moisture removed.

"We just need to go through a few steps," Mr. Inman said. NTSB members stated that they still do not know what caused the collision. Mr. Inman stated that the "major lift" operation, conducted by the U.S. Navy, will begin on Saturday. Parts of the aircraft need to be removed from the water before divers can re-enter. Authorities plan to map the wreckage in the river to better understand how the aircraft reacted during the collision.

Mr. Inman stated that the work to remove large parts of the aircraft from the water with a crane will begin on Sunday and will continue throughout the week. Washington D.C. Fire Chief John Donnelly stated that more than 500 people have been working day and night at the crash site in the Potomac River. Mr. Inman was asked about reports of an air traffic controller managing both helicopter and plane traffic in the area simultaneously. He did not comment on the specifics but said that officials plan to review the controller's actions over the past few weeks, especially the 72 hours before the accident.

"Obviously, we're going to be looking not only at the staffing on that day...[but also at] how many people, what jobs they were doing, whether they were combined." The air traffic control team is still conducting interviews. Mr. Inman was also asked if his team was in contact with the White House. President Donald Trump has suggested, without evidence, that the helicopter involved was "flying too high."

Recordings of air traffic control conversations released online show that a controller tried to warn the helicopter about the American Airlines plane seconds before the collision. The helicopter pilot seemed to respond to acknowledge that they were aware of the plane, but moments later, the two aircraft collided. Trump also suggested that the FAA's diversity hiring might have led to safety issues. "Our job is to find the facts," Mr. Inman said. "More importantly, our job is to make sure this tragedy doesn't happen again — no matter what anyone says."