The NTSB plans to create several individual groups of investigators who will work together to do a reconstruction of what happened on Wednesday night.

The investigate agency will take into consideration the actions of multiple players, including air traffic control, the military helicopter and the passenger plane.

"They will study the crew performance," says Inman, before he lists a number of possible human and equipment factors that could have played a role, including: "human error including fatigue, medication, medical histories, training, workload, equipment, design, and work environment".

Inman tells the media that the DC medical examiner will be in charge of providing the names of people who have died in Wednesday's collision.

He adds that the National Transportation Safety Board will be briefing the affected families later today.

"A loss of life in an aviation accident is very unusual in the United States, and our heartfelt sorrow goes out to everyone affected," he says.

Image source, NTSB

Todd Inman, NTSB board member and spokesperson for the investigation, is now speaking.

He says that "our intention is to have a preliminary report within 30 days".

A final report, he notes, will be issued "once we've completed all the fact-finding investigations".

He adds that the goal of the investigative team is not just to understand what happened - but why it happened.

The NTSB's Homendy says they were at the site of the crash last night, but have been allowing the first responders to carry out their work.

Today has been the NTSB's first full day on the scene, she says, adding they have about 50 people there in addition to the resources back at their headquarters.

They are not going to get into specific facts in this news conference, she says, adding that they will be going through their investigative process.

They will provide factual information as they are able to confirm it and will not be determining the probable cause while at the scene, she says.

Image source, NTSB

Jennifer Homendy, the chairwoman of the NTSB, starts the news conference by first sending "our deepest condolences, our sympathies, on behalf of the entire board for those that lost loved ones in this terrible tragedy".

"Entire communities were affected, and we're thinking of you," she says.

She is speaking as many members of NTSB board stand behind her.

She calls it an "all hands on deck" event and vows to "leave no stone unturned" in the investigation.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is about to begin a news conference on the Washington DC crash.

Earlier, President Trump said the independent investigative government agency is one of the bodies that will be tasked with investigating the incident.

We'll be bringing you updates throughout, and you can follow along by pressing watch live at the top of this page.

Carl Nasman
BBC News

A bit earlier today, I was speaking with Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin. I asked him if he believed measures were in place to prevent future accidents like this, and he told me that recovering the victims' bodies is the highest priority right now.

"What I do know is the NTSB [National Transportation Safety Board], American Airlines and everybody that is working so exhaustively overnight and through the day is focused on making sure that every lost life is recovered and reunited with their family," he told me.

"That is our top priority," he said, adding that he has been speaking with other regional leaders - including the mayor of Washington DC, the governor of Maryland and the White House - "to make sure that every resource" is available to first responders.

"We're gonna make sure that these families know that we're praying for them, and that we'll do everything we can to let them know they're loved and supported," he says.

Speaking at a news conference a little earlier, President Trump said Russian nationals were onboard the flight that crashed in Washington DC.

We've now heard from the Russian embassy in the US, which has sent its condolences to the families of those killed in the crash.

It also says American authorities have expressed their "readiness to help" with the transfer of remains back to Russia.

During that same news conference, Trump also said people of other nationalities were on the flight, but he did not provide specifics.

Rachel Looker
Reporting from Arlington

I just spoke with Giorgio Ko, another neighbour in my apartment building who came to the roof during his lunch. He wanted to see the current status of the crash scene.

Ko says he was home last night when he thought he heard a loud boom while watching TV. He didn't think anything of it until his mom texted him and told him to look at the news.

Ko then went to the roof with his girlfriend to see what had happened.

"I've never seen anything like this. I was born in the area," he says, referencing the countless emergency response vehicles that were blaring their sirens en route to the airport.

The recovery operation is continuing at the crash site on the Potomac River in Washington DC. Here's a look at some of the latest photos, as workers recover pieces of the wreckage:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Rachel Looker
Reporting from Arlington

I just spoke with one of my neighbors, Kaylyn Thompson, on the rooftop of my apartment building in Arlington, Virginia. We have a clear view of the airport and the Potomac River where the plane crashed.

Thompson tells me one of her friends was supposed to be on the doomed flight. Her friend had a meeting run late and ended up missing it.

"She's so shaken up and I'm even shaken up because it lets you know that life is so fragile and one impediment in your day - if you're redirected... if you're late to something, it's probably for a reason," she tells me.

Thompson was texting with the friend about upcoming plans when her brother told her there was a plane crash. She looked out her window and saw the large emergency response in the Potomac.

In an area with constant helicopter and airplane traffic, she says she's wondering how an accident like this could happen.

"Today's a heavy, heavy day," she says.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

As we've been reporting, Trump repeatedly suggested that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes may have contributed to the crash - although he acknowledged that the investigation is still at its very early stages.

In his remarks, he referenced the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) hiring of people with "severe intellectual" disabilities and other mental or physical issues.

A website for the FAA's diversity and inclusion hiring programme appears to have been taken down in December.

An archived version of the site, however, shows that the FAA was seeking people with "targeted disabilities" that the federal government was prioritising for recruitment at the time.

The website specifically referenced hearing and vision issues, as well as "missing extremities, partial paralysis, completely paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and dwarfism".

Trump read from this list, verbatim, during the news conference.

However, the programme listed on the site appears to be for the whole FAA, and does not specifically appear to be for air traffic control roles.

The archived website also shows that the FAA was offering non-competitive "on-the-spot" hiring for veterans and people with disabilities.

The recruitment website was the subject of considerable media attention at the time, particularly from conservative US news outlets.

In a statement sent to Fox at the time, the FAA said that "like many large employers, the agency proactively seeks qualified candidates from as many sources as possible, all of whom must meet rigorous qualifications that of course will vary by position".

As we've already reported, the helicopter involved in last night's crash was a military helicopter from the 12th Aviation Battalion.

It was performing a training mission at the time - although Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says this shouldn't be interpreted to mean the crew was inexperienced, and that the pilots had many years of experience.

Earlier in the news conference, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the ranks of the three soldiers killed - he said they were a young captain, staff sergeant and chief warrant officer.

Trump's quick pivot to politics and blamepublished at 17:43 Greenwich Mean Time

17:43 GMT

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Donald Trump stood before the White House press room cameras on Thursday to perform a traditional presidential duty - consoler in chief during a time of tragedy. Then he provided yet another reminder of how his new presidency is going to be very different.

After offering his condolences for the loss of life in the mid-air crash Wednesday night in Washington, Trump quickly pivoted to blaming what he claimed were low standards of hiring for air traffic controllers in the Federal Aviation Administration during the Biden presidency.

Trump and his fellow Republicans have regularly lashed out at “diversity, equity and inclusion” programmes in the federal government – efforts to recruit and support a more diverse government workforce. And less than 24 hours after the first major US air disaster in decades, Trump – along with his secretaries of transportation and defence, and his vice president – took turns hammering the point, even as they provided little evidence that federal hiring practices had any connection to this particular crash.

“It just could have been,” Trump said at one point. And he had suggested DEI was to blame “because I have common sense”.

The FAA has dealt with shortages of air traffic controllers for years – a fact that would undercut his assertion that the administration’s ranks have been filled with less-qualified employees.

Two things were very clear from Trump’s remarks on Thursday. The first is that his eagerness to inject himself into a major news story is undiminished in his new term. And the second is that in his view it is never too soon to inject politics into national tragedy – and use it to attack opponents and advance his agenda.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, EPA

For those of you just joining, we've just wrapped up a news conference at the White House in which Donald Trump addressed reporters and gave his views on what may have caused last night's deadly accident.

Here are a few of the main points we heard from him:

• While the president said an investigation is still ongoing and in its early stages, Trump said he has "strong opinions" on the crash and what may have caused it
• Trump repeatedly alleged that the hiring of unqualified air traffic controllers may have contributed - although he gave no specifics and there has so far been no evidence that this was the case
• He specifically took aim at two of his predecessors: Joe Biden and Barack Obama
• Trump confirmed that Russian nationals were onboard the flight, as well as other nationalities - though he did not specify the other countries
• The American Airlines aircraft involved in the crash, Trump added, was "doing everything right"
• He suggested that the helicopter, on the other hand, had a "pilot problem" and speculated that it made a turn that was "not correct"

Trump answers his final question and leaves the White House briefing room after a news conference which lasted around 40 minutes - reporters continue to shout out questions as he leaves.

Stick with us as we continue to wrap up some of the top lines from his address.

Trump is now asked: is it safe to fly in and out of DC?

There were warnings, but they were given "very late", Trump says, adding that he believes the warnings should have been given earlier.

Again, he blames the helicopter pilot for not seeing the plane and he doesn't answer the question on whether the airport is safe.

Asked if there were other nationalities on the plane, Trump says yes there were and an announcement will be made in an hour.

He is later asked by a reporter if people should be hesitant to fly, and he says: "No, not at all."

Donald Trump is now asked about the helicopter's training - to which he says information will come up during the investigation into the incident.

"The helicopter was in the wrong place at the wrong time and a tragedy occurred," he says.

Another reporter is asking him a question about if he could clarify the helicopter going on a "continuity of government mission".

"I don't know what that refers to," Trump says.

The president says the helicopter was "practising, and that's something that should be done".

"It was a practice that worked out very, very badly," he adds.

A reporter puts it to Trump that he has said a couple of things during today's press briefing, including that he wasn't sure the air traffic controllers made any mistakes and suggested the helicopter pilots did.

Trump acknowledges the remark but adds "it's all under investigation".

The reporter then asks the president how he can claim at this moment that diversity hiring policies had something to do with this crash.

"Because I have common sense, and unfortunately a lot of people don't," Trump says.

Trump is back at the lectern taking questions.

A reporter asks him to clarify if he is alleging that diversity hiring policies played a role in last night's crash.

In response, Trump says: "There are things you have to go by brain power and psychological quality."

He says his administration has the highest standards, and claims the standards under the previous government were "the opposite".

He says there will be an investigation, but for air controllers, "we want the brightest, smartest, sharpest, psychologically superior" people.