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A  prominent American rescue operation trainer has spoken of some of the challenges facing divers trying to recover bodies from the tragedy.

Butch Hendrick, founder of Lifeguard Systems, told CNN: "The mud becomes an intense problem. The severe lack of visibility means divers are essentially going through the aircraft by feel — like reading in braille. And now they’re dealing with a fuselage that’s torn apart.

“Every foot, every six inches they move, there’s the potential for another snag, another hazard, or even an injury to the divers. So they have to be extremely careful inside that aircraft."

The body recovery effort has now been suspended for the night, Washington time. It will resume at first light.

CNN affiliate WINK has reported that three of the tragedy's victims - plane passengers Michael “Mikey” Stovall and Jesse Pitcher - were returning from their annual hunting trip to Kansas.

“Mikey did not have one enemy,” Stovall’s mother Christina Stovall said. 

“He loved everybody. He’s the happiest person. He saw good in everybody, almost to a fault.”

The wife of Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, Carrie also paid tribute to her late husband.

“I am sure by now all of you have heard the news of the tragedy that has occurred in DC. My husband was one of the pilots in the Blackhawk,” she wrote in a post on Facebook. “We ask that you pray for our family and friends and for all the other families that are suffering today. We ask for peace while we grieve.”

American media are also reporting that among passengers who died on the plane was a woman who tragically lost her life on her 33rd birthday.

Over 40 bodies had been recovered as of Thursday evening, according to US media reports.

CBS News correspondent Kris Van Cleave reported that human remains and debris were washing up on the Virginia side of the Potomac River. 

The DC Fire and Emergency Dept said "divers have searched all areas that are accessible".

"Tomorrow, divers will work with NTSB to conduct additional searches to locate aircraft components, to support the investigation, and begin operations to salvage the aircraft."

The flight data and cockpit voice recorders have been recovered from the passenger jet that crashed into Washington's Potomac River after a deadly midair collision with a military helicopter, US media reported.

Sources familiar with the investigation confirmed to CBS News and ABC News on Thursday that the recording devices commonly known as black boxes were recovered from the crashed plane operated by an American Airlines subsidiary and would be analysed by the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation.

Global figure skating's tight-knit community was in mourning on Thursday after a passenger jet crash in Washington killed two former world champion coaches and young stars from the next generation of top US talent.

Former Russian world pairs champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov and as many as 14 young American skaters perished when a plane collided midair with a US Army helicopter on Wednesday night above the US capital.

American Eagle Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, plunged into the Potomac River, with President Donald Trump announcing Thursday there were no survivors.

Among those grief-stricken was Nancy Kerrigan, a former US women's champion and two-time Olympic and world medalist based in Boston, where the World Figure Skating Championships will be held in March.

"Not sure how to process it," she said, breaking down in tears. "When you find out you know some of the people on the plane, it's an even bigger blow."

Reigning world and US men's champion Ilia Malinin called it a "loss beyond words."

"It's just so heartbreaking," Malinin said. "It's still hard to process. It's emotional for me and all the figure skating community.

"All of us are really devastated. We're so sad... It's really hard to wrap our minds around it."

Doug Zeghibe, chief executive of The Skating Club of Boston, confirmed six club members were on the plane, including 1994 world pairs champions Shishkova and Naumov.

"To the best of our knowledge, 14 skaters returning home... were lost in the plane crash," said Zeghibe.

The passengers were returning from US Figure Skating's national development camp, conducted in Wichita following last week's US championships there.

US Figure Skating, in a statement, confirmed only that "several members of our skating community" were on the plane.

"We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims' families closely in our hearts."

Zeghibe said Boston skaters Jinna Han, 13, and Spencer Lane, 16, their mothers and Naumov and Shishkova were aboard the plane that crashed into the icy Potomac.

"I've never seen anyone love skating as much as these two and that's why I think it hurts so much," Kerrigan said of Han and Lane.

"The kids care. They work really hard to be here... it's just such a tragic event."

It also could mean a lost generation of champion talent.

Four-time US champion Brian Boitano, the 1988 Olympic men's champion, called the deaths "a huge loss for the sport" and added, "Any time there's a loss of these talented people like Spencer and Jinna... it really affects all of us. We're mourning their loss and we still have more people to find out about."

US Olympic and Paralympic Committee chief executive Sarah Hirshland said the US victims "represented the bright future of Team USA."

Naumov and Shishkova, who coached in Boston since 2017, will be missed, Boitano said.

"They were people producing champions of our future," he said.

Congressman Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia posted on social media that among those killed was Russian skating coach Inna Volyanskaya.

Alexandr Kirsanov, another Russian coach, was on the plane, according to his wife Natalya Gudin, who told ABC News she has "lost everything."

The Philadelphia Skating Club said "beloved members" died in the crash and University of Delaware president Dennis Assanis said two young skaters from UD's Skating Club were believed to have been on the doomed flight.

International Skating Union president Kim Jae-youl said "the world of figure skating is heartbroken," adding: "To lose so many members of our community in this way brings sadness beyond words."

A moment of silence was observed Thursday at the European Figure Skating Championships in Estonia.