DC plane crash live updates: Investigators comb through wreckage for clues

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, chair of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee, told reporters he learned that the data from the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) tracking system for the military helicopter was "turned off" when the committee was briefed by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday.

Cruz said he raised questions at the briefing on why the ADS-B data on the Black Hawk was turned off, noting that the FAA rules allow military aircraft to disable the system only under certain circumstances.

Cruz said he "asked the Army to reconsider and assess with what frequency is the Army turning off ADS-B out on military missions, particularly missions that do not have a sensitive national security component."

"The NTSB has recommended ADS-B in and ADS-B out on all aircraft, and that's something I expect the committee to consider and assess," Cruz said. "All of these are reasonable, important questions to ask in the wake of this accident. At the same time, I would caution what I said before: We need to look to the evidence and actually understand what happened here."

When asked if he supports reducing operations around Reagan airport, Cruz said, "There's no indication from the investigation that congestion was the cause of the accident."

"In this instance, it appears the Black Hawk helicopter was flying at a dramatically different altitude than where the helicopter was supposed to be, and the investigation needs to proceed. We need to understand why that is the case. The NTSB believes they will learn more when they recover the Black Hawk helicopter itself," Cruz said.

Cruz also said he asked the FAA to conduct a review of helicopter routes not just at Reagan, but at airports across the country.

Senators described the briefing as "very thorough," based on what the NTSB and FAA could share amid the ongoing investigation.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said the Army was working with the NTSB in a positive way, noting that there was no finger pointing at each other during the briefing.

"I have long advocated for more air traffic controllers, but I've also advocated for a better technology, and I think that both of those things will play into the solutions," Klobuchar said.

-ABC News' Ayesha Ali

Champion figure skaters are coming together for a tribute show called "Legacy on Ice" to honor the victims of the plane crash.

More than a dozen of the victims killed in the crash were young skaters, their parents and coaches returning home from a national figure skating development camp.

The event will be on Sunday, March 2, at 3 p.m. at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

Olympians Tara Lipinski, Kristi Yamaguchi, Scott Hamilton and Johnny Weir are among those participating.

The show will raise funds to support victims' families, first responders and aviation professionals, U.S. Figure Skating said.

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Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are providing a closed-door briefing on the crash to the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, the committee’s ranking Democrat, said any involvement from Elon Musk in transportation policymaking represents a "clear conflict of interest."

"The last thing I want is that guy trying to control the airspace," Cantwell said, citing Musk’s businesses, which are regulated by the sector, and his effort to push out the former FAA administrator, who was confirmed unanimously, she said.

The NTSB should play a larger role in policy, Cantwell said, "not because we don't think that FAA is doing some part of that job," but because of the safety board’s proximity to the issue.

"We just don't think [the FAA is] doing it as aggressively enough," Cantwell said. "And we think that the people who've investigated the details of the accident know exactly what we should be doing."

Cantwell mentioned an exemption the Department of Defense was given in the rule-making process that may have relieved some technology requirements. Had full standards been met, she said, it "may have given the Black Hawk and everybody around it more data and information."

-ABC News’ Chris Boccia and Ayesha Ali

All 67 bodies have now been identified, the Unified Command said Wednesday, and the medical examiner's office is working to "ensure the dignified return of remains to their families and continue supporting the families through this process."

Crews are still working to clear the remaining wreckage out of the Potomac River.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expects to remove all major parts of the American Airlines plane by Thursday. The crane operations will then shift to removing the helicopter and clearing any large debris in the remaining debris field.

-ABC News' Ayesha Ali