Families of victims of the deadliest U.S. air disaster in nearly 25 years visited the crash site just outside Washington, D.C. on Sunday
They walked along the banks of the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport, close to where an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided on Wednesday.
Authorities said Sunday they had recovered and identified 55 of the 67 people killed.
Col. Francis Pera of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said, “Yesterday, they were able to identify 11 separate human remains. As part of this effort, as part of their preparatory operation for dive.”
The National Transportation Safety Board says some of the most trusted location data shows the crash happening at just over 300 feet higher than the 200 feet ceiling the Black Hawk helicopter was supposed to be flying under.
But the tower radar that air traffic control was looking at showed the chopper at 200 feet.
NTSB Lead Investigator Brice Banning said, “Initial data indicates that he may have seen 200 feet. That needs to be verified. Our ATC group is working it.”
Banning also said the jet’s cockpit voice recorder captured sound moments before the crash.
Banning said, “The crew had a verbal reaction and FDR (Flight Data Recorder) data showed the plane beginning to increase its pitch, sounds of impact were audible about one second later, followed by the end of the recording.”
Deadly Medical Jet Crash in Philadelphia
And there are new details about the medical jet crash that occurred in Philadelphia on Friday evening.
The cockpit voice recorder has been found eight feet down inside a massive crater where the Learjet made impact. The surrounding scene was littered with burned-out cars.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said, “There is substantial impact on the entire community, the debris field extends four or five blocks.”
An 11-year-old and her 31-year-old mother, along with 4 crew members, were killed in the crash. One person on the ground was also killed, and 22 were injured, some critically.
The jet was returning to Mexico after the child was treated at Shriner’s hospital.
Testimony from Tragedy
Meanwhile, as the nation continues to mourn the 67 lives lost in Washington, Michael Simpson, a friend of two of the victims, Bob and Lori Schrock of Kiowa, Kansas, told CBN News about their powerful influence in his life, their deep faith in Jesus, how they lived with an eternal perspective, and what Bob’s message would have been.
“‘We’re here for a short amount of time and eternity is what matters.’ That’s what Bob would tell me. I know that that’s what he would want the world to know. It’s like, true peace and hope can be found in a relationship with Christ. You are here today and can be gone tomorrow, and eternity’s what matters.”
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MORE HERE ‘Eternity Is What Matters’: Christian Plane Crash Victims Transformed This Man’s Life
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