(Reuters) - More than 60 people were dead after an American Airlines regional passenger jet collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday and crashed into the frigid Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said the midair collision should not have happened, and vowed reforms to "make sure that these mistakes do not happen again and again."
The cause of the crash is under investigation. Below are the details:
* The black boxes have not been recovered yet, a spokesperson at U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said. Those will provide key data on the last moments of the flight.
The Blackhawk helicopter also have data recorders and it is unclear if the NTSB or the Pentagon will read them, once recovered.
* Wreckage from the incident is being stored in Hangar 7 at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
* The NTSB will hold a meeting later on Thursday with aircraft manufacturer Bombardier, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), American Airlines and other parties to organize the investigation.
* The NTSB is pulling air traffic control tapes and will interview controllers and others as part of the investigation. They will scrutinize the aircraft and the training procedures for the Army helicopter.
* A preliminary report of the investigation will be issued in 30 days and a final report is expected within 12-18 months.
(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh and David Shepardson; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
