More of the wreckage of an American Airlines regional plane was recovered Tuesday from last week's deadly midair collision over Washington, D.C., that sent the airliner and an Army Black Hawk helicopter crashing into the Potomac River.

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.