Army helicopter's black box will be 'key' to unraveling cause of American Airlines plane crash, say officials

Authorities are searching for answers following the devastating American Airlines plane crash this week and the black boxes will be the key, experts say.

On Wednesday the US was stunned when news broke that an American Airlines passenger plane had crashed into US military helicopter in Washington.

Flight 5342 was preparing to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport when it crashed into a Black Hawk helicopter just before 9.00pm on January 29.

A search team was immediately dispatched as both aircrafts plummeted into the Potomac River beneath.

However, authorities later confirmed that they believed all 67 people involved in the crash have died. There were 60 passengers and four crew members on the passenger plane with three people in the helicopter.

The rescue mission for survivors then shifted into a recovery mission.

Authorities are attempting to identify everyone who was on the flight (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

Away from the scene of the crash, authorities have been attempting to identify all involved and understand what went wrong for the crash to occur.

Two black boxes from the passenger jet and a device from the helicopter have been recovered, and aviation experts have said the black box within the helicopter may be the key to unraveling the disaster.

Senior Army aviation adviser Jonathan Koziol is helping with the federal investigation into the crash and highlighted the importance of the black boxes.

He said: “There’s a lot of experts out there, but until we get the data from the black boxes, that’s the only truth, and we won’t know that for a little bit.”

Authorities have also cautioned against wild speculation regarding the incident.

A full investigation will take months to conduct as the plane's black boxes and flight data will need to be analyzed, as well as interviewing Air Traffic Control employees.

Rescuers are believed to still be attempting to retrieve bodies from the river but difficult conditions are making the job harder, according to John Donnely, Washington Fire and EMS chief.

Aviation experts have highlighted the importance of the crash black boxes(Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

Speaking about the difficulties, he said: “The challenges are access. The water that we’re operating in is about 8ft deep.

"There is wind, there is pieces of ice out there. So it’s just dangerous and hard to work in.

"And because there’s not a lot of lights, you’re out there searching every square inch of space to see if you can find anybody.

"Divers are doing the same thing in the water. The water is dark, it is murky, and that is a very tough condition for them to dive in."