Methods of identification can vary greatly depending on the circumstances of the aviation disaster in question. Sometimes, due to the nature of a crash, identification of human remains is not possible. If an explosion happened before the plane crashed, or the plane is lost over an expanse of water or in a remote location, then identifying the victims bodies may be impossible. For instance, the remains of the passengers from John F. Kennedy Jr.'s plane were only located after extraordinary efforts were undertaken by multiple U.S. naval salvage ships.
Tools of Identification
Investigators and medical examiners have many tools at their disposal to make identifications from the smallest fragment of tissue -- including visual identification, fingerprints, dental records and DNA testing. But investigators also rely on seeing and comparing these fragments with other evidence, such as physical characteristics, clothing, family portraits or descriptions, and other records (prior dental records or surgeries, etc). Without this additional information, identifications of aviation disaster victims can only be made within a range of likelihood, rather than to a point of certainty.
Laws of Identification
Congress recognized the problems related to aviation disaster identification, both physical and emotional, and as a response passed the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act in 1996. The Act dictates what usual procedures should be used in identifying a victim's remains, as well as provides for better communication during the process. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is the lead agency in coordinating experts to respond to an aviation disaster. Among the first teams to be assembled after a disaster is the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT). A DMORT team may include: forensic pathologists, medical examiners, odontologists, anthropologists, funeral directors, fingerprint experts and evidence technicians.
Coordination of aviation disaster identification has improved greatly in recent years. An emergency mobile mortuary has been created, and is available for dispatch nationally. The Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act also allows for the use of nearby military bases for the important step of preserving the bodies that are found. Though the NTSB is not allowed to investigate military crashes, the military may, in some circumstances, investigate civilian crashes. The military (under federal law) has its own recovery and identification systems, including mobile mortuary systems, that are independent of the mobile mortuary dispatch created by the NTSB.
However, even with this unprecedented level of cooperation, the NTSB still cautions that identification is a time-consuming process and it does not always result in all victims being identified. The use of grief counselors and other counseling resources for the families and friends of aviation disaster victims is recommended.