Yahoo Lifestyle American Airlines Plane Carrying 64 People Had 'Rapid Impact,' Slides Likely Weren't Deployed: NTSB
"We’re here to assure the American people that we are going to leave no stone unturned in this investigation," said an NTSB official said
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Emergency crews move debris near the crash site along the Potomac RiverAn American Airlines plane with 64 people on board collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter, which had three people on board, in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Jan. 29
Officials previously stated that they did not expect any survivors
The NTSB said at a press conference that the black box recording devices have not yet been recovered
Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reaffirmed local authorities’ belief that there were no survivors in the deadly midair collision on Wednesday, Jan. 29, between an American Airlines jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.
“The D.C. fire chief [John A. Donnelly] said this morning very succinctly, correctly, that ‘we believe there are no survivors,’ “ NTSB board member J. Todd Inman at a press conference held on Thursday, Jan. 30.
Inman said that NTSB investigators are currently going through the debris field and suggested that the incident happened so quickly that the American Airlines plane’s slides and chutes were not deployed.
"Nothing we’ve seen would indicate that maybe slides or chutes were deployed,” said Inman. “It was a very quick, rapid impact. We’ve seen nothing in that regard so far from the evidence we have, but we still need to verify all of that information.”
NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy began the news conference by expressing her condolences to the victims and those affected by the collision.
“We are all here because this is an all-hands-on-deck event. And we’re here to assure the American people that we are going to leave no stone unturned in this investigation," she said. "We are going to conduct a thorough investigation of this entire tragedy looking at the facts."
Related: American Airlines CEO Says 'We Don't Know Why' Black Hawk Helicopter 'Came into the Path' of Plane
NTSB officials did not discuss specific details of the case, as Thursday marked their first full day on the investigation. Instead, they outlined the steps they will take moving forward. They also noted that the "black box" recording devices have not yet been recovered but emphasized that this is not unusual.
The NTSB stated that details regarding the names and number of victims will be released by the Washington, D.C., medical examiner’s office.
Inman said that investigators will be at the scene “as long as it takes.”
“Our mission is to understand not just what happened, but why it happened and to recommend changes to prevent it from happening again," he said.
Earlier, officials announced they were transitioning from a "search and rescue" operation to a "recovery" operation.
“At this point we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident,” said Washington, D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly, adding that they had already “recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter.”
He added, “The District Office of the Medical Examiner has led on reuniting these bodies and these people with their loved ones and we will continue to work to find all the bodies and collect them and reunite them with their loved ones."
At the time of the crash, the jet was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, according to a statement from American Airlines. The U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter also had three soldiers onboard.
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While the full details of those onboard the aircrafts remain unknown, CEO Doug Zeghibe announced at a press conference on Thursday, Jan. 30, that 14 U.S. figure skaters were on the plane, including six members of The Skating Club of Boston.
The victims from The Skating Club of Boston have been identified as two teens, Spencer Lane and Jinna Han, their mothers, Molly Lane and Jin Han, and two coaches, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, former World Champions.
Inna Volyanskaya, 59, a former pair skater who competed for the Soviet Union, was also on the plane, according to Reuters, citing Russian news agency TASS. According to the Washington Figure Skating Club's website, Volyanskaya was a coach for the team.
Additionally, pairs figure skating world champions Evgenia Shishkova, 52, and Vadim Naumov, 55, who won the title in 1994, were among the plane passengers, Reuters and The Guardian reported, citing Russian news agencies TASS and RIA.
The couple, who were married, were thought to have lived in the U.S. since at least 1998 after retiring from their competitive careers, Reuters reported. They helped to train young ice skaters.
The 2025 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships were held in Witchita last week.
The two cities involved in the crash of American Airlines Flight 5342 will be “forever” linked, according to Mayor Lily Wu.
“We mourn with all those who have been impacted,” Wu said in an emotional press conference earlier on Thursday. “This is a terrible tragedy that will unite those in Washington, D.C. and Wichita, Kansas, forever."
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