The U.S. has given an approximate timeline for determining the exact cause of the plane crash in Washington, D.C.

It may take a year to determine the exact cause of the airplane crash in Washington, DC, involving a passenger aircraft American Airlines and a military helicopter Black Hawk. Todd Inman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States, said on January 31.

"The preliminary report we believe will be released in 30 days, but in the case of these major investigations, it will take us a year, if not more, to come to a final probable cause," ABC News quoted Inman as saying.

He also noted that a voice recorder and recorder have been recovered from the plane, the data from which will be listened to by more than one person to come to a consensus on the audio transcript. He said additional noises in the form of rumbling or banging that may have been in the cockpit of the airplane are also being ascertained.

The plane crash in Washington could have been avoided. What the media is saying

On the night of Jan. 30, an American Airlines passenger jet and a Black Hawk military helicopter collided near Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. After the crash, they fell into the Potomac River. There were 60 passengers and four crew members aboard the plane. According to the latest data, more than 40 bodies of the victims were extracted from the river.

US President Donald Trump reported the absence of survivors in the airplane crash in Washington. He called the crash terrible and said the tragedy could have been avoided if the control tower had told the helicopter crew to change course.

CNN reported the day before that one of the flight recorders (black boxes) of the crashed passenger plane had been recovered from the Potomac River.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that there were Russian citizens on board the plane that crashed in Washington and Russian figure skaters on board. Tatyana Tarasova, an honored USSR figure skating coach, called the news from Washington "terrible." On January 31, Peskov added that the United States and Russia had been in contact through diplomatic channels after the plane crash.