Divers scoured for the remaining bodies from the Washington plane crash Friday as President Donald Trump posted his own politicized verdict on the deadliest US air disaster in almost a quarter century, with the investigation barely underway.

Forty-one victims have been pulled from the icy depths of the Potomac River, and rescuers voiced confidence that the other 26 would be retrieved in the massive operation to recover the passenger jet that collided in midair with a Black Hawk military helicopter Wednesday night.

"Our dive teams are working in targeted areas and additional Coast Guard assets will arrive this afternoon. The salvage crews... are assessing the work that's going to be needed to recover the aircraft from the water," Washington Fire Chief John Donnelly told a news conference at Reagan National Airport, outside the US capital.

"We expect those operations to begin no later than tomorrow afternoon."

He told reporters that lifting the aircraft's fuselage out of the river would likely reveal the remaining bodies, adding: "If it doesn't, we will continue the........

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