The broken ruins of the Black Hawk helicopter involved in the fatal crash of a plane in DC last week were pulled out of the Potomac River on Thursday, the National Transportation Safety Board announced.
The NTSB recovered most of the rest of the UH-60 Black Hawk Military Chopper after colliding with a US Airlines passenger plane near Washington at Washington DC's Reagon National Airport last Wednesday. It was announced on Thursday night.
The crew of the salvage and diving Navy Systems Command Supervisor working in conjunction with the NTSB was able to recover some parts of the destroyed chopper, including the engine and tail rotor on the right.
Images shared by the NTSB show crumpled metal, once a working military helicopter, being lifted from the water by a crane floating above a barge on the Potomac River.
The recovered parts are stored in barges and will be transferred to a safe location on Friday as part of an ongoing investigation. Statement from NTSB.
Other parts of the decimated helicopter are still lost in the Potomac River, but authorities are also working to retrieve them.
According to the NTSB, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will perform a Lidar (light detection and range) scan of river beds overnight.
A detailed radar scan allows officials to find additional parts and fragments of the riverbed fate chopper, which are then retrieved by divers and cranes.
The NTSB said flight data was recovered from both helicopter and American Airlines planes. This is already drawn from the cold waters of Potomac.
Earlier this week, authorities confirmed that the Black Hawk helicopter was flying at improperly high altitudes during the crash, killing 67 passengers and all crew members on both crafts.
The bodies of all 67 victims (60 passengers and four crew members on American Airlines flights, Chopper's three soldiers) have been previously recovered from the river.
Data collected by air traffic control shows that the chopper was flying high at an altitude of 300 feet during the fiery collision on January 29, according to the NTSB.
According to the agency, bird birds flying in controlled airspace have a maximum altitude of 200 feet.
The passenger plane reportedly flew about 325 feet at the time of the accident.
Authorities will continue their search tomorrow at the Potomac River, according to an NTSB statement.
