55 victims in Washington, DC midair collision pulled from Potomac River as recovery operation continues

While air traffic control data had the plane’s altitude at 200 feet at impact, Inman said they “have not finalized that and need to get more granularity to it,” and that data from the Black Hawk’s recorder is also needed to answer for the apparent 100-foot difference in altitude.

VICTIMS IDENTIFIED IN DC PLANE CRASH INVOLVING AMERICAN AIRLINES JET AND MILITARY HELICOPTER

“Whenever we have the data from the recorder, we will be able to give you a more specific answer,” Inman said.

Jake Crockett, a firefighter and diver with the Scuba Rescue Team of Chesterfield Fire & EMS, told Fox News Digital last week that the recovery operation is “incredibly unusual.”

“We’re trained and always ready to answer the call…when the dive call comes in, but that’s typically involving one victim. And, in rare occasions, a couple of victims,” Crockett explained. 

“But something of this magnitude, you know, having 67 people to account for, along with two aircraft and all the debris is just it’s incredibly out of the ordinary. It’s something that, no doubt, none of them nor myself could have predicted.”

The firefighter also noted that the Potomac River poses challenges related to temperature and water visibility.

“It’s going to be zero visibility or close to zero is that they’ll be diving in, and so looking for small parts of an aircraft in that kind of visibility is going to be extremely challenging,” Crockett explained. “The waters here and the lakes and ponds and rivers…when you go in, it’s just dark.”

Fox News Digital’s Mollie Markowitz contributed to this report.