Audio and video from the collision of American Airlines Flight 5342 and an Army helicopter over the Potomac revealed some clues about the aircrafts’ last moments.
The crash itself was caught on camera as one air traffic controller said, “I just saw a fireball,” confirming that the two aircraft had indeed collided and plummeted into the river just before 9 p.m. Wednesday.
The video shows the two sets of lights approaching, then a bright flash, and then everything going dark as pieces fall into the water.
The plane was found belly-up in three pieces, and all 64 people aboard were killed, officials said Thursday.
The bodies of the three soldiers aboard the helicopter, which was on a routine training flight, were recovered by Thursday afternoon. Among the passengers on the plane were a group of U.S. young figure skaters, their coaches and some family members.