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mexico, and china tomorrow. more is really hostages are said to be released from gaza as part of the cease-fire deal as the israeli prime minister visit to the u.s. is confirmed. ♪ hello you are very welcome. the investigation continues into the deadly collision between a u.s. army helicopter and a passenger jet. the american airlines plane was carrying 64 passengers and crew, flying from wichita, kansas, when it collided with a black hawk helicopter with three soldiers on board and they crashed into the potomac river. it is the deadliest air accident in the u.s. and more than 20 years in the first fatal crash involving a commercial airline

since 2009. investigators have recovered flight data recorders from the wreckage as they continue their search for the people killed in the crash. officials say more than 301st responders used sonar scans to find bodies overnight. the fire chief and says the aircraft fuselage need to be removed from the river before more bodies can be found. >> we have recovered 41 sets of remains. those victims have been positively identified. next of kin notifications have been made to 18 families. going forward with this operation, search teams will continue to work the site. our dive teams are working in targeted areas. additional coast guard assets will arrive this afternoon.

salvage crews have begun to arrive on the scene. they are assessing the work that will be needed to recover the aircraft from the water. we expect those operations to begin no later than tomorrow afternoon. anchor: the faa is indefinitely restricting helicopter flights around reagan national airport. official city airport is now running at a reduced capacity with only one runway open. donald trump suggested the helicopter involved in the collision was flying too high at the time of the crash. but he did not provide evidence to back up his claims. let's get the very latest in this ongoing story. we are joined by our correspondent who is at reagan national. what can you tell us about this recovery operation and what comes next? >> we are getting some updated numbers. 41 are now recovered from the potomac river.

28 people have now been identified. obviously difficult news for the family and loved ones who are still in the region waiting for more news. those recovery efforts are continuing. we saw today many people working in ic conditions. the rain today really slowing down some of the recovery effort. we heard very that press conference, in order to find more of the victims, they will have to take the aircraft out of the river. they say they are waiting on some heavier equipment and that could take place as soon as saturday afternoon. in the meantime this investigation continues. really just getting going on how and why this midair collision took place. they will be looking at several different factors. one could be understaffing in the air traffic control tower. they will examine some of the close calls this airport has

seen in the past. they will want to look at the black boxes that have been recovered. they want to determine the exact altitude and height that both of these aircraft were at the figure out how this could have happened and whether or not to the military helicopter was flying higher than what is normally allowed. anchor: we have heard about restrictions around the airport and a reduced number of flights. what can you tell us about that? reporter: the reduced number of flights, a couple of the runways here have been closed. that is because of ongoing operations in the river. just one runway open. several flights have been canceled. we got confirmation today from the brand-new secretary of transportation that the faa will be restricting the airspace. helicopters are not allowed to enter.

there are a couple of normal pathways near reagan airport that have been shut down indefinitely. it is interesting to see some fallout in terms of safety measures. all of this came into effect after the incident. will we see more to come? we will have to wait and see. there have big concerns expressed even ahead of this accident about the level of traffic we see around this airport. it is designed for about 50 million passengers per year. it is now seeing 25 million. that gives you the idea of the level of traffic here. there was some politician saying we should not add anymore flights. but they were added it anyway. there were fears it could contribute to dangerous conditions. going head will will likely wait for the results. a final conclusion may not come

for many months or even a year. anchor: thank you for that. let's talk a little bit more about that investigation and what may lie ahead. i am joined by the former national transportation safety board investigator. thank you for joining us. the ntsb is just beginning its investigation. how long you think it will be before we can know for sure just what happened here? >> one correction, they have already began their investigation within hours after the accident. they just have not worked on seeing. they have been in the control tower gathering radar tapes and information from all of the areas around the accident. they just have not had access to the accident site yet. when they get to the accident site and the airplane comes out of the water and the victims have been recovered, they will go in there and look for

physical evidence. they will check out the airplane and the helicopter, looking at all the systems that they can. they have the data recorder and the voice recorder. they will be checking. one of the questions you just raised moments ago is the altitude of the helicopter. i am sure they will pull the altimeter system out of the helicopter, testing instruments, and examine it for the system. to make sure that they may be still on the table. still together. and make sure that that system was working properly. accident investigation is a process. it is a series of required steps by the investigators to ensure that they gather all of the pertinent facts. this is not new.

they follow a standard set of procedures and they will go through them meticulously to gather all of facts that they can. anchor: i do not want to to speculate, i know you would not anyway. but you aren't expert in this field. are there issues about what we know so far were you think the investigation will really focus on things that perhaps led to this collision? >> there is no question they will focus on the air traffic control. this highway that helicopters used to come down the potomac river. when i worked in washington, i watch these helicopters day after day going up and down the river. there are many of them. lately in the last few years, this system has been giving us warnings. with all of the near misses and

miscues that we have had. this system has been telling us, we are on overload, help us. this accident will raise all of those issues. it has already. congress is already looking into it. the faa has shut down the helicopter routes. the airport is looking at how overloaded they are. this is probably the best thing that can happen to transportation in this area in a while because it will force us to take a look at transportation in and out of the city and we have not done that in a long time. anchor: it will feel like that for the families of people who have lost their lives. would you consider it safe to fly in and out of that area? >> i've scheduled the first flight monday morning myself going into d.c..

none of us want to go to these airports and fight the morning traffic. so we really want to get in there on those early flights. that is the dilemma. that the authorities are facing. the public wants access. but common sense says we should start restricting it. anchor: when we have heard president trump preparing to blame some of the staff members, air traffic controllers, and how they were hired, are those kind of issues within the scope of an investigation? >> they are. the qualifications of the people who were in the control tower at the time will be put under a microscope.

if there are any deficiencies in their training, those will be the report. anchor: when a president makes remarks like that, do the investigators shut it out and ignore it or does it have some level of influence? >> the working investigators come the people i worked with, will completely ignore those comments. the political people in the agency will have to deal with it. but the work of the people who were actually there watching the recovery efforts, they will completely ignore those remarks. anchor: a former ntsb investigator, thank you so much for joining us here with your insights. >> thank you for having me. anchor: donald trump there is nothing canada, mexico, and china can do to stop him from imposing sweeping tariffs. the white house said that starting on saturday, goods

coming from those countries will be hit with a terrorist. president trump testified the decision by saying that countries had stopped -- failed to stop the flow of undocumented immigrants into the u.s. >> we have big deficits with all three of them. in one case they are sending massive amounts of fentanyl, killing thousands of people year. and the other cases, they are making it possible for this poison to get in. we have big deficits. it is something we are doing. we will possibly vary substantially increase it. or not. we will see how it is. anchor: the tariffs will disrupt thousands of dollars in north american trade at also effectively into the thirty-year free-trade system deeply integrated into the three economies. more terrorists are expected.

trump said he will absolutely impose them on the european union as well. prior to the announcement, the canadian prime minister said that canada would be ready with a purposeful, forceful, but reasonable immediate response. >> right now we are showing the new american administration that they have a strong partner in canada when it comes to upholding border security. all while simultaneously underscoring that we will not back down. if tariffs are implemented against canada, we will respond. we will not relent until tariffs are removed and everything is on the table. anchor: many businesses in china are getting ready for the possibility to move their production lines offshore to keep the tariff. our correspondent has more. reporter: this all-american cowboy boot once crafted to conquer the wild west is made

here in china. production has slowed as orders dwindle. u.s. buyers do not want to risk more of donald trump's tariffs on chinese made goods. he says 100 different skills are needed to make each shoe. that is what he does not want to move the workshop out of china. >> in the end, it is the workers at the bottom who suffer. with higher tariffs, we higher costs. with higher costs, we have fewer borders. the income of the workers will decrease. reporter: these are the victims at the center of a trade war. a skilled workforce that knows no other job.

other chinese companies are on the move. parts of cambodia have given it to beijing. half of the countries investment now flows from china. these close are heading to u.s. firms like walmart and costco. most of the materials still come from china. he shows off his newly developed factory as he gets ready for large orders. >> i think the u.s. will raise terrorists. our customers have already anticipated this and they are moving their orders here. factories are relocating. a lot of chinese companies are investing in cambodia and southeast asia. reporter: this factory is hiring hundreds of workers as profits soar.

successes like this one increase the chinese footprint across south east asia. chinese firms have been coming here for over a decade but that is now accelerating. about 90% of all garment factories in this country are now chinese run or chinese owned. the terrorists have not stopped chinese business. they simply go elsewhere to do business. crates now shipped from cambodia as china navigates its way to the straight war. it may be losing some money in this battle, but it is gaining power and influence. anchor: donald trump will meet benjamin netanyahu in washington on tuesday. the leaders will hold a work meeting before an informal dinner. this comes as the release of

hostages continues. hamas has since israel the names of two other men it will release. they are expected to be released in what could be the fourth prisoner swap of the cease fire. all of this comes as former hostages are talking about their experiences in captivity. >> we have heard today from one of the previous hostages. she was one of the first people to be released under this deal. when she was abducted, she was shot in the late and that hand.

she received treatment. she has been in conversation with the british prime minister and she told him that while she was held in captivity in gaza, she did not receive adequate medical treatment. she was held in united nations facilities. disorganization has been accused of participating in the october 7 attacks. his facilities were used by hamas. those facilities are often the only buildings left standing. they are used by thousands of palestinians to seek shelter. and to hide or escape from the fighting. in response to this claim, a

spokesman said it takes any claims very seriously. particularly if the buildings were used to hide or keep hostages add. they would like an independent inquiry. despite all of the sick absent problems, there have been some signs of progress. a border crossing is set to partially reopen. that will allow out about 50 palestinian civilians who are so badly injured or suffering from illnesses that they will be treated abroad. anchor: i am joined by a former israeli ambassador to the u.s. thank you for joining us. prime minister netanyahu will be the first foreign leader to visit president trump in this term in office. what does that selection say about the alliance between the

countries and their leaders? >> it says a lot about the importance that president trump assigns to his relation to israel. the president is a transformative figure. there is a deal to be had in gaza. a deal to be had with the palestinians. and with iran. the key to all of these deals lies with netanyahu. i think it will be a very interesting conversation. it might not be the easiest conversation. because some of these deals require significant israeli concessions. anchor: do you think he is prepared to make those concessions? >> he will have a hard time.

the president wants a deal between israel and saudi arabia. that is a deal that has been on the table for a while, but it comes with a price. they want a pathway to a palestinian state. they are very specific about that. a pathway is a thing with gravel. it does not obligate anything. but this government will not agree to a pathway. they will have a hard time agreeing to that. with the prime minister can do is go back to his government said president trump has made is a condition, we better accepted, we have no choice, he has forced my hand. anchor: indeed we are told there was a call between the secretary of state and his saudi arabia counterpart today.

those exact words were discussed. the prime minister is facing a lot of pressure at home. will this visit be of benefit domestically to him in terms of elevating his own status? >> certainly. the saudi's have an opinion. they expect a quid pro quo for the opening of diplomatic relationships with israel. some kind of horizon for the palestinians. anchor: what role do you see president trump playing in making all of this more permanent? >> the white house has floated a couple of different ideas that are not entirely separate.

one is calling for the temporary relocation of 2 million palestinians to indonesia. the gaza strip would be completely reconstructed into a vacation site. it is a wonderful site. that is quite a vision. trump has called for a similar number of palestinians to be moved into egypt and jordan. those countries have rejected this so far. the egyptians are heavily dependent on american aid. anchor: we will wait to see what happens. thank you for joining us.

president trump this visit is believed to be the first direct meeting since 20. white house press secretary said that did not amounts to a recognition by the u.s. that is it for the moment. thank you for watching. take care.

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♪ >> good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. officials stop most helicopters from flying near the washington airport while they search for clues into what caused the deadly collision with a passenger jet