HEARTBREAKING details about the lives of the 67 people killed in the devastating crash between a military helicopter and a plane in Washington DC on Wednesday have started to emerge.
A newly-engaged pilot, a group of friends on a hunting trip, and teenage figure skaters were among the victims aboard the American Airlines plane that exploded over the Potomac River.
Three soldiers on the Black Hawk, including a new dad from Atlanta, died when the military helicopter smashed into the passenger jet, carrying 64 travelers from Wichita, Kansas.
The plane shattered into three pieces, and both aircraft sank into the inky black waters just before 9 pm ET.
No official reason for the crash has been given, but the air traffic controller tower was reportedly short-staffed during the crash, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
An FAA report about Reagan Airport’s Air Traffic Control tower said it had been operating with a third of the recommended staff – just 19 people instead of 30 – for years, The New York Times reported.
It also found that the controller guiding the plane to land was monitoring both airplanes and helicopters, two separate jobs that would normally be assigned to two controllers.
It comes as…
- All 64 passengers are feared dead with at least 28 bodies pulled from river
- CCTV captures moment of the crash
- Chilling audio reveals the final moments of flight
- World champion figure skaters confirmed to be on board
- Figure skater shared final, tragic picture from inside the plane before takeoff
- Husband reveals wife’s final text from doomed jet
- Rescue efforts hindered by freezing & dark conditions with 12 hours before severe weather comes
- American Airlines CEO blames Black Hawk pilots
- Trump blames Obama and Biden’s DEI polices at FAA for crash
- American Airlines pilots and crew named
- Passenger names beginning to be released, including teens, parents, and coaches
At least 28 bodies were pulled from the river after the ill-fated rescue mission quickly turned into a desperate recovery operation.
There are no survivors, making this the deadliest US air crash since November 2001, when 260 people died after an American Airlines plane plunged into a Queens neighborhood.
One victim, 30-year-old Kiah Duggins, was a former Miss Kansas contestant and Harvard Law graduate who previously worked as an intern for Michelle Obama.
She had become a celebrated civil rights attorney who friends say “worked diligently and selflessly for others and was dedicated to justice.”
Friend Marcus Rucker told The U.S. Sun, “The last time I spoke to her was a few weeks ago to tell her she did a great job in court.
“I believe she was going to be a law professor at Howard [University].
“She had a personality as radiant as her smile was. She was incredibly kind and comes from a great family as well. It’s a tragic loss for them and Wichita as a whole.”
Friend Rylan Michele knew Kiah through the Miss Kansas Organization and said the pageant world is like a “sisterhood” and they are heartbroken by her death.
“Kiah had the ability to make everyone feel at home the moment she entered a room,” she told The U.S. Sun.
“She was not only a beauty queen on the outside, most importantly she was beautiful to the core.
“One of her best qualities was her passion to make everyone feel equal and loved.”
“She had already built such a powerful legacy and had no intentions of slowing down.”
She added that she was “truly one of the kindest people I know and really did light up the room with her gorgeous smile.”
At least 14 passengers on the flight from Kansas to the US capital were members of the ice skating community returning from the US National Championship.
The Skating Club of Boston CEO Doug Zeghibe confirmed that skaters Jinna Han, 13, and Spencer Lane, 16, and both of their mothers, Jin Han and Christine Lane, were among those killed.
Lane posted a final picture on Instagram showing his view from the plane in the hours before the crash.
Lane and Han’s coaches, 1994 ice skating world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, also died in the crash.
Shishkova and Naumov were married, and they had a 23-year-old son, Maxim, who was also a rising star in the ice skating community.
He flew home on Monday and is safe.
In a devastating statement, Zeghibe said, “Skating is a very close and tight-knit community.
“These kids and their parents, they’re here at our facility in Norwood, six, sometimes seven days a week. It’s a close, tight bond.
“This will have long-reaching impacts for our skating community.”
Asra Hussain, a 26-year-old woman who sent a final text message to her husband, also died in the crash.
Hussain texted her husband “we are landing in 20 minutes” just before 8 pm on Wednesday.
Her husband said her body hadn’t been recovered from the Potomac River as of Thursday afternoon, according to Fox affiliate WXIN.
PILOTS NAMED
The pilot of the American Airlines flight was identified as Jonathan Campos, 34, who was based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
His first officer was Samuel Lilley, 29, who was just months away from being promoted to captain.
Lilley also recently got engaged, his sister told ABC News.
“I was so proud when Sam became a pilot. Now it hurts so bad I can’t even cry myself to sleep,” his dad wrote in a devastating tribute on Facebook.
“I know I’ll see him again, but my heart is breaking. He was doing great in his career and his personal life. He was engaged to get married in the fall.”
The Parkview High School Marine Corps JROTC confirmed that another victim, Ryan O’Hara, was the crew chief onboard the Black Hawk helicopter.
The new dad leaves behind his wife and his one-year-old son.
Ian Epstein and Danasia Elder have also been named as flight attendants on the American Airlines plane.
Epstein’s wife confirmed his death in a statement on Facebook, while Elder’s friends remembered her on social media as a “beautiful soul.”
Michael Stovall, 40, was on the plane with six of his closest friends after they traveled to Kansas for a hunting trip, The New York Times reported.
One of those friends was Jesse Pitcher – a 30-year-old owner of a plumbing business who had just gotten married.
A mom and her daughters were also killed in Wednesday night’s crash, according to NBC affiliate WJAC-TV.
Donna Smojice Livingston, her husband Peter, and her two daughters, 14-year-old Everly and 11-year-old Alydia were named as victims.
DEADLY ‘MISTAKE’
Newly appointed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that a “mistake” led to the deaths of the entire cabin and crew onboard the plane.
The US Army was flying the helicopter for a training mission, and an “elevation issue” caused it to crash into another aircraft, Hegseth said.
Officials are now investigating exactly what happened.
After Hegseth gave the update at the press conference, a furious President Trump called the tragedy a “dark night in history.”
He blamed the previous administration and the Federal Aviation Administration, which he claims has put undue pressure on air traffic controllers with diversity efforts.
This came after the FAA’s website stated the administration was actively recruiting workers who suffer “severe intellectual” disabilities and psychiatric problems, Fox News reported earlier this month.
The newly inaugurated president vowed to determine the cause of the disaster and ensure it would never happen again.
“We do not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas,” he said.
VICTIMS REMEMBERED
Shishkova and Naumov moved from their home country to become coaches and have been working at the Boston club since 2017.
On Sunday, their son Maxim competed, and both parents were there to support him.
“It’s well-known mom was always too nervous to watch him skate,” a broken-hearted Zeghibe said in a briefing.
“But his dad was with him, and dad was in the ‘kiss-and-cry’ sharing his great performance.”
TRAGIC FINAL POST
The ice skating competition ended on Sunday, but a few hand-selected athletes were asked to stay longer for an elite training camp.
In a now-haunting final Instagram post, Lane expressed his gratitude for completing the national development camp he’d been looking forward to for months.
“It has been my goal almost ever since I became aware that it was a thing,” he wrote.
He went on to thank Shishkova and Naumov for “always pushing me to be the best I can be.”
Another fellow skater was planning on boarding the doomed flight, but was miraculously saved by an issue with his dog.
Washington DC plane crash victims
A mid-air collision between American Airlines flight 5342 and a military helicopter on January 29, 2025, left dozens presumed dead. The victims include:
- Captain Jonathan Campos, 34
- First Officer Samuel Lilley, 29
- Flight attendant Ian Epstein
- Flight attendant Danashia Brown Elder
- Spencer Lane, 16
- Christine Lane, 49
- Jinna Han, 13
- Jin Han
- Evgenia Shishkova, 52
- Vadim Naumov, 55
- Alexandr Kirsanov
- Angela Yang
- Sean Kay
- Peter Livingston
- Donna Smojice Livingston
- Everly Livingston, 14
- Alydia Livingston, 11
- Inna Volyanskaya
- Asra Hussain Raza, 26
- Michael Stovall, 40
- Jesse Pitcher, 30
- Elizabeth Anne Keys, 33
- Wendy Jo Shaffer
- Kiah Duggins
- Black Hawk crew chief Ryan O’Hara
‘LOST EVERYTHING’
Alexandr Kirsanov, a coach for youth ice skaters on board, was also aboard the deadly flight.
His wife, Natalya Gudin, also coaches student skaters with her husband in Delaware.
“I lost everything,” Gudin told ABC News. “I lost my husband, I lost my students, I lost my friends.”
Gudin said Kirsanov was traveling with two young skaters, Angela Yang and Sean Kay, to attend a development camp in Kansas this week, but she decided to stay back to be with other students.
“I need my husband back,” Gudin said. “I need his body back.”
The last time Gudin spoke with her husband was when he boarded the flight on Wednesday.
Yang and Kay were youth ice dance partners.
