Officials at the Washington DC crash scene say both black box flight recorders and 41 sets of remains have been recovered from the downed American Airlines regional jet.
Washington, DC Fire Chief John Donnelly Sr. said 28 bodies have been formally identified.
There were no survivors of the 67 people on board the American Eagle branded flight which was operated by American Airlines’ partner PSA.
The plane collided with a Black Hawk helicopter which was carrying three people.
Donnelly said to recover the rest of the bodies, the plane’s fuselage may have to be removed first.
Work on this will likely start at the weekend.
The accident led to an immediate ground stop at nearby Reagan National Airport.
The regional jet was in the middle of its descent to the airport.
It took off earlier from Wichita, Kansas.
The passengers included several members of the US figure skating team.
