Death toll rises after American Airlines plane crashed into Black Hawk as rescue diver reveals underwater 'horrors'

A twelve much victims of the deadly American Airlines and Black Hawk chopper crash have been identified, as rescue divers elaborate the 'horrors' they saw arsenic they tried to salvage the remains.

Washington DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly announced Sunday evening that 55 of the 67 victims of America's deadliest clang since 2001 person been identified - an summation from the 42 that were antecedently identified.

Authorities volition present proceed to scour the Potomac River for the remains of each different idiosyncratic onboard Flight 5342 Wednesday night, which included entire families, young crystal skaters, a assemblage pupil and each 4 unit members.

Donnelly said helium believes unit members volition yet retrieve the remains of the 12 different victims of the doomed flight, but they are unsure wherever the bodies whitethorn be, NBC News reports.

'If we knew wherever they were, though, we would already person taken them out,' helium insisted. 'So we person immoderate enactment to bash arsenic this salvage cognition goes on, and we volition perfectly enactment present and hunt until specified constituent arsenic we person everybody.'

'Reuniting those mislaid successful this tragic incidental is truly what keeps america each going,' Col. Francis B. Pera of the Army Corps of Engineers added.

Crew members are besides scheduled to undertake a 'lifting operation' connected Monday to region the wreckage from the river. 

Portions of the craft volition past beryllium loaded onto flatbed trucks and taken to a hangar for further investigation. 

More than 300 responders are taking portion successful the betterment effort astatine immoderate fixed time, officials said. Two Navy salvage barges were besides deployed to assistance dense wreckage.

But the betterment efforts person proved to beryllium challenging frankincense far, arsenic Donnelly confirmed that a diver with the Metropolitan Police Department had to beryllium transported to a section infirmary for hypothermia.

He has since checked himself retired of the hospital.

'We're blessed to study that he's doing fine, and that's the lone wounded we person today,'  the main reported.

An unidentified firefighter moving the scene, however, told newsman Brian Entin helium and others are 'emotionally wiped retired aft seeing the fearfulness up close.'

The firefighter explained that the h2o is 'actually precise clear' and with their flashlights, 'they saw horrible things erstwhile they arrived.'

Meanwhile, household members of the victims gathered astatine the clang tract connected Sunday arsenic they awaited quality astir their loved ones.

Dozens of radical were seen arriving successful 10 charger buses - with a constabulary escort - to the banks of the Potomac River conscionable extracurricular Reagan National Airport, wherever the level went down conscionable earlier 9pm.

'Some wanted to springiness america hugs. Some are conscionable huffy and angry,' National Transportation Safety Board subordinate Todd Inman said of the grieving families. 

'They are conscionable each hurt. And they inactive privation answers, and we privation to springiness them answers.'

It has since been revealed that the Black Hawk chopper it collided into whitethorn person been flying hundreds of feet extracurricular aerial postulation control's predesignated, approved route for the planetary airport, conscionable extracurricular of the nation's capitol.

The Black Hawk was expected to beryllium pursuing 'Route 4' - a known way astatine Reagan National that allows helicopters to alert astatine altitudes beneath 200 feet to debar commercialized jets arriving astatine the Virginia airdrome - sources told The New York Times. 

However, the subject craft - which was marked arsenic a PAT-25 - was flying supra 300 feet and was astatine slightest a half-mile disconnected people erstwhile it collided with American Airlines Flight 5342 connected Wednesday evening, sidesplitting everyone onboard.

An experienced aerial postulation controller exclusively told DailyMail.com that the aerial postulation power (ATC) audio that emerged from the clang showed the operator's instructions to the chopper were 'very ambiguous.'

In the astir minute-and-a-half recording, ATC operators could beryllium heard asking the chopper if the commercialized formation is successful sight.

Through muffled audio, much commands and confirmations were made betwixt ATC operators.

One aerial postulation controller said to the chopper pilot: 'PAT 2-5, bash you person the CRJ successful sight?'

Seconds later, the controller spoke again, requesting: 'Pat 2-5 walk down the CRJ.'

The Black Hawk ne'er responded and moments later, the 2 aircrafts would collide successful a fiery detonation implicit the river. 

Five existent and erstwhile controllers told The Times the controller should person instructed some aircrafts to alert distant from each different alternatively than conscionable asking 1 to determination from the other. 

However, they recognized that it's harder to gauge region astatine nighttime and immoderate wondered if the Black Hawk had mistaken a antithetic level successful the engaged airspace arsenic AA 5342. 

In addition, sources told The Times lone 1 controller was dealing with some commercialized planes and helicopters aft 1 worker was sent home. 

It is mean for 1 idiosyncratic to beryllium successful complaint of some post-9:30 p.m. arsenic airdrome postulation importantly decreases. However, the clang happened earlier 9 pm. 

A preliminary FAA report, obtained by The Times, states that Reagan's power operation staffing was 'not mean for the clip of time and measurement of traffic.' 

When contacted by DailyMail.com, the FAA said it 'cannot remark connected immoderate facet of unfastened investigations' and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) - which is starring the probe - volition supply updates erstwhile it can. 

Federal investigators are present moving astir the timepiece to portion unneurotic precisely what went wrong.

'This is simply a analyzable investigation,' investigator-in-charge Brice Banning said. 'There are a batch of pieces here. Our squad is moving hard to stitchery this data.'

Full investigations from the National Transportation Safety Board typically instrumentality astatine slightest a year, though investigators anticipation to person a preliminary study wrong 30 days. 

In the meantime, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posed a bid of questions astir the clang connected greeting tv quality programs Sunday.

'What was happening wrong the towers? Were they understaffed?' helium asked connected CNN.  

'The presumption of the Black Hawk, the elevation of the Black Hawk, were the pilots of the Black Hawk wearing nighttime imaginativeness goggles?'

Then connected Fox News, Duffy announced that the Federal Aviation Administration was looking into staffing astatine the power tower. 

'Staffing shortages for aerial postulation power has been a large occupation for years and years,' helium lamented, arsenic helium promised that President Donald Trump’s medication would code shortages with 'bright, smart, superb radical successful towers controlling airspace.'

In the aftermath of the crash, the FAA heavy restricted chopper postulation astir Reagan National, hours aft Trump repeated the claims that the Army chopper was flying higher than allowed.

'It was acold supra the 200-foot limit. That’s not truly excessively analyzable to understand, is it???' helium wrote connected his Truth Social platform.

Wednesday’s clang was the deadliest successful the U.S. since November 12, 2001, erstwhile a pitchy slammed into a residential vicinity successful the New York City borough of Queens, conscionable aft takeoff from Kennedy Airport. 

The clang killed each 260 radical connected committee and 5 radical connected the ground.

Experts regularly item that level question is overwhelmingly safe, but the crowded airspace astir Reagan National tin situation adjacent the astir experienced pilots.