Crews were expected to recover the passenger jet's cockpit, though high wind gusts and tidal conditions could slow operations, said Col. Francis B. Pera of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is leading the multi-agency operation.

The pieces of wreckage recovered Tuesday were lifted by a crane and placed onto a barge with other parts recovered from the flight that took off from Wichita, Kansas, for Washington's Reagan National Airport with 60 passengers and four crew members on board. One of the pieces recovered earlier in the day showed a portion of the American Eagle logo.