Over the Potomac River, near Washington’s Reagan National Airport, a huge piece of a jet was pulled out of the water on a Monday morning. This happened five days after a collision between a commercial jet and a military helicopter. Sixty-seven people lost their lives in this tragic event.

        Alongside the river, more than three hundred responders worked tirelessly to recover the wreckage. Two navy barges were also used to lift heavy parts of the plane. Divers and salvage workers were careful to follow strict rules. If they found any remains, they would stop moving debris immediately. Everyone involved wanted to make sure the recovery was handled with respect and dignity. On Sunday, families of the victims were escorted in buses to the river, in order to see the location of the crash. The plane was carrying figure skaters returning from a competition, and a group of hunters. The helicopter carried three soldiers.

        In the last 21 years, this was the deadliest air crash in the US. The last time anything like this happened was in 2001, when a jet crashed into a neighborhood in New York City.

        U. S. investigators are examining the data from the crash. Two major questions are on the table. One, what caused the crash? Two, why were the altitudes of the jet and the helicopter different? The NTSB thinks that the jet's flight recorder changed a second before the crash. However, they are not sure if this was a pilot trying to avoid the crash. The jet was at 325 feet and the helicopter was at 200 feet.

        The airspace above Reagan National Airport is notoriously crowded. Even the most experienced pilots find it tough to fly through. Yet, experts point out that flying is generally very safe. This accident was devastating, but also rare. Investigators are working to figure out what went wrong. It will take time to get the full story.

Mystery in the Skies: Deadliest Crash since 2001

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