No survivors are expected after an American Airlines passenger flight and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided midair on Wednesday night, near Washington D.C.'s Reagan National Airport.The big picture: While the cause of the crash is being investigated,

Officials said the bodies of several victims remain in the plane's fuselage and their "dignified" removal is a main priority.

Crews began the complex job of lifting American Airlines Flight 5432 from the Potomac River after it collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter in the Washington, D.C., area.

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.