The cockpit voice recorder, commonly known as the black box, from the U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter involved in the devastating mid-air collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday has been recovered by investigators.
67 people were reportedly killed in the air mishap.
As at press time, emergency teams are ramping up efforts to retrieve debris from the crash site, with the U.S. Navy set to begin major salvage operations on Saturday.
Officials disclosed that large sections of the wreckage, including the submerged passenger aircraft, must be lifted from the Potomac River before divers can continue recovery efforts.
Recall that the crash involved an American Airlines flight carrying 64 passengers and crew and a Black Hawk helicopter transporting three U.S. Army soldiers.
So far, 28 victims have been identified, 41 bodies recovered, with authorities expressing the hope that additional remains are unlikely to be found until the sunken aircraft is removed from the riverbed.
Audio recordings from air traffic control, released online, suggest that a controller attempted to caution the helicopter pilot about the approaching American Airlines jet just seconds before the crash. The pilot acknowledged the warning from the controller but was unable to avoid the collision.
