Salvage crews lift portion of fuselage of American Airlines plane from Potomac

Feb. 3 (UPI) -- A large portion of the fuselage from the American Eagle passenger plane that crashed with an Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C., last week was pulled from the Potomac River on Monday, officials said.

So far, 55 victims have been positively identified, and D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said he believed that everyone from the accident will be recovered. A large crane helped pull the fuselage from the murky river Monday morning. Officials appeared to remove an engine from the airplane, as well.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who was visiting the plane crash site in Philadelphia on Monday, said he would return to D.C. to confer with investigators as they inspect the fuselage.

Authorities said all of what remains from the airplane will need to be removed from the crash site to recover all 67 bodies involved in the crash.

"The level of coordination both behind the scenes and out on the Potomac is exceptional," Baltimore District Commander Col. Francis Pera said, according to NBC News.

"We have not and will not lose focus on what is most important -- the safety of our crews and the accounting for those still missing to bring closure to their families and loved ones."

Officials said the "large lift" operations of the airplane and the Black Hawk helicopter should be completed by Saturday, with the clearance of other debris by Feb. 12. They said those dates are flexible depending on the availability of equipment and weather.