Investigators seek clues in deadly aircraft collision as divers return to frigid river to recover wreckage and remains

Crews in Washington, DC, working at the site of the deadliest aviation disaster in a generation are balancing two important missions: extracting parts of two aircraft that crashed and fell into the Potomac and searching for remains of victims within the wreckage, which is the searchers’ priority.

Crews in Washington, DC, working at the site of the deadliest aviation disaster in a generation are balancing two important missions: extracting parts of two aircraft that crashed and fell into the Potomac and searching for remains of victims within the wreckage, which is the searchers’ priority. Officials have so far identified 55 of the 67 victims and said they would likely recover the American Airlines cockpit by Tuesday, wind gusts and tidal levels permitting. Data from the military helicopter’s black box was set to be released at a news conference Monday, the National Transportation Safety Board leader told Fox News, but the news conference was never scheduled. As a salvage team continues to work in cold winter conditions to lift debris from the frigid water, key questions into the cause of the fatal collision remain –– though answers may not be immediately clear for weeks. Former director of the FAA’s Office of Accident Investigation Steven Wallace said however, he’s confident the cause of the disaster will eventually be unambiguous. “We have radar data, we have eyewitnesses, and we have all the wreckage,” Wallace told CNN’s Phil Mattingly. “There’s nothing missing.”