Investigators have recovered the flight recorders—also known as black boxes—from both the commercial jet and the military helicopter involved in the mid-air collision near Reagan National Airport in Washington,

Several victims of a mid-air crash between an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter Wednesday night were identified on Thursday, as officials said they have recovered the passenger jet's black boxes.

The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, known as the black boxes, may offer clues about what went wrong before the crash.