Figure skater Spencer Lane extended a photo of the plane's wings towards the tarmac before American Flight Eagle 5342 arrived in the air from Wichita, Kansas on the evening of January 29th on the way to the country's capital.
The grey-blue overcast sky formed sparkling curtains over the sunset in images the teenager posted on his Instagram story. The up-and-coming skater wrote “ICT-> DCA” which refers to the airport codes for the city of departure and destination.
His mother, Lane, as well as other budding skate stars, US and Russian families and coaches, were waiting for their departure after attending the US figure skating championships and development camps for young athletes.
At Reagan National Airport, Hamad Raza received a text message from his wife. The flight was about 20 minutes after landing. He later gave a message to a reporter for CNN affiliate WUSA.
Tragically, since 2001, all 67 people on US Airlines' Black Hawk helicopters have collided with US Airlines' regional jets and US Army Black Hawk helicopters.
Among the victims were three soldiers on a helicopter, four members of the jet flight crew, 28 skaters and family members who belonged to our figure skating, seven friends on a hunting trip, and other passengers mourning their family and friends.
These are some of the victims of tragedy and the way their loved ones remember them.
A family of four from Virginia: 14-year-old Everly Livingston and 11-year-old sister Aridia are young figure skater, dad Peter Livingston plays hockey, while mom Donna was very active in the girls' life, family friend Kim Urban previously told CNN's Anderson Cooper. My family was on my way home from Wichita. There, I attended events surrounding the US figure skating championships. “Livingstone was free. They were just a family of big personalities. They loved, they were thoughtful. Donna and Peter were very supportive parents. They were loving parents. They did everything for their children,” Urban said. “Aridia and Everly were… bright kids, extremely talented skaters, and very hilarious.”
Female Black Hawk Pilot: The pilots who were in charge of the aircraft when they collided with the passenger plane were “drived and hardworking” officers for Army Aviation and people who knew she had recalled to CNN. The Army officially identified the pilot as Colonel Rebeccarobach, 28, one of the three crew members within the UH-60 Blackhawk. A statement released by the Lobach family calls her a “bright star.”
Asura Hussein Raza: The daughter of Indian immigrants graduated from the Honors at Indiana University in 2020 and married her college lover in August 2023, her stepfather Hashim Raza told CNN. “She didn't get in the way for everyone,” he said.
Read more about those who were tragically lost their lives in a fatal collision.
CNN's Alexandra Score, Pete Morten, Holy Yang, Juan Carlos Lopez, Gillian Sykes, Lauren Mascurenhas, Dahlia Faheid, Rex Harvey, Kiafatahi, Teallevane, Saradewberry, Max Lego, Zene Bou Sila, Emmer Tucker, ZENE BOU STUKER.
