The victims of a crash between an American Airlines jet and a U.S. army helicopter included a rising legal star, an Ohio college student coming from her grandfather’s funeral, two Chinese nationals and a group of hunters headed back from a guided trip in Kansas.
As well, two teenage figure skaters, their mothers, and two former world champions who were coaching at a historic Boston club were among the 14 members of the skating community killed.
They were among 60 travellers and four crew members on board the commercial flight that took off from Wichita, Kan., and then collided with a U.S. army Black Hawk helicopter, near its destination of Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington, D.C. All on board the jet were killed, as were three soldiers on the helicopter, as both aircraft plunged into the waters of the Potomac River.
Here’s what we know about some of the people killed in Wednesday night’s crash:
Students, teachers and parents
Both Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Wichita State University expressed “profound sadness” over the death of Kiath Duggins, who was born in 1994.
“Kiah was a proud alumna of the Barton School of Business, graduating in the spring of 2017 with degrees in International Business, Economics, and Spanish,” WSU said in a statement on social media.
The school said Duggins went on to earn a degree at Harvard Law School and worked in Washington at a non-profit where she “litigated on behalf of movements challenging unconstitutional policing and money bail practices” and “studied prison industrial complex abolition.”
According to Howard University officials, Duggins was set to teach a course there in the fall.
Cedarville University in Ohio said one of the passengers on the plane was Grace Maxwell, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering.
Maxwell’s father, Dean Maxwell, said she was returning to campus from her home in Wichita after attending her grandfather’s funeral, The Wichita Eagle reported.
“Be sad, grieve, tell stories of how much you loved her and laugh in one moment and cry in the next and talk to someone as you need to, and for God’s sake pray for her parents and her family as they go through this,” Dr. Dan Estes told students during a memorial for Maxwell livestreamed on the Baptist school’s social media platforms.
The National Association of Biology Teachers confirmed the death of their president-elect Lindsey (Carter) Fields, as did Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kan., where she taught.
On the school’s biography page, Butler described her love of family, her Great Danes, cooking and the outdoors. Her education, which included PhD work, saw her explore pre-veterinary medicine, molecular genetics, and zoology, including a stint at the Oklahoma City Zoo.
Three other students from schools in Fairfax County, Va., and six parents from the district were also on board the plane, superintendent Michelle Reid said in a letter to families. She did not identify them, but she said the students were from different schools and that two of the parents were current or former district staffers.
The helicopter crew
The identities of the helicopter crew have not been officially released. But the wife of one of the helicopter pilots said on Facebook that her husband, Andrew Eaves of Noxubee County, Miss., was killed.
In a phone call, Carrie Eaves confirmed the post was hers, while Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves also paid tribute to Eaves in a statement.
We send our deepest condolences to the families and friends of Ryan O’Hara and Sam Lilley as they navigate this difficult time.
Both of these young Georgians shared a passion for flight and for serving others, and this terrible tragedy is that much more difficult knowing their…
As well, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in a social media post offered “our deepest condolences to the families and friends of Ryan O’Hara and Sam Lilley as they navigate this difficult time.”
“Both of these young Georgians shared a passion for flight and for serving others, and this terrible tragedy is that much more difficult knowing their lives were cut so unexpectedly short,” said Kemp.
While Lilley was an American Airlines employee, O’Hara was not. O’Hara was remembered as a “standout soldier” by a fellow service member in an interview with an Atlanta television station.
The American Airlines crew
Lilley, 28, was one of two pilots on the plane, serving as the first officer, his father, Timothy Lilley, said in a Facebook post.
“I was so proud when Sam became a pilot,” he said. “Now it hurts so bad I can’t even cry myself to sleep.”
Georgia legislator James Burchett paid tribute to Lilley in a statement, saying the Georgia Southern University graduate was engaged to be married.
Flight attendant Ian Epstein was an outgoing person who loved his job, his ex-wife, Debi Epstein, told the Charlotte Observer. He had two daughters, including one who is getting married in eight weeks, she said.
Jonathan Campos, 34, was also based out of Charlotte, according to the Observer. He was the captain of the American Airlines flight, according to multiple news reports.
His aunt, Beverly Lane, told The New York Times that Campos had wanted to be a pilot since the age of three.
Danasia Elder was a flight attendant on the commercial flight, WSOC-TV in Charlotte, N.C., reported.
Elder’s brother-in-law, Brandon Payne, described her as “full of life,” and the mother of two children.
Skating community devastated
Skating Club of Boston CEO Doug Zeghibe said Thursday that skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane and their mothers were among those killed, along with 1994 pairs world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov of Russia.
“We watched Jinna just grow up here from just a tiny little tyke into this amazingly mature 13-year-old,” he said. “A great performer, a great competitor, and off the ice, a great kid.” Her mother was identified as Jin Han.
The teen skaters’ coaches, the Russia-born Shishkova and Naumov, won the pairs title at the 1994 world championships.
In a statement, the Lane family recalled Christine Lane, Nathan’s mother, for both her singular talents and her dedication to parenting.
“Christine exuded creativity throughout her life, using her formal graphic design training as a jumping-off point for seemingly endless creative pursuits across areas such as photography, quilting, knitting, and more. She brought even greater passion to her role as a mother to Spencer and his brother Milo,” the family said.
The historic club has developed former Olympic medallists Nancy Kerrigan and Tenley Albright.
“I certainly don’t have any answers. I really can’t believe that it happened, because I picture them right here,” Albright said, breaking into tears.
The club then learned that former alumnus and world champion Dick Button, 95, died Thursday, in New York state.
Ex-U.S. Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan spoke to the media at the Skating Club of Boston on Thursday, a day after an American Airlines flight collided with a U.S. army helicopter in Washington, D.C. Two young skaters from the club, two of their parents and two prominent coaches were among 14 members of the skating community killed in the collision.
Everly and Alydia Livingston — aged 14 and 11, respectively, were Washington-based young athletes and known on social media as the “Ice Skating Sisters.”
In Virginia’s Loudoun County, a coach at a skating club was also identified as among the passengers, Virginia Rep. Suhas Subramanyam confirmed. The club, Ashburn Ice House, said that its “figure skating community has been directly affected,” but did not give further details.
The Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society said it had lost “beloved members of our club,” but did not identify them publicly.
Foreign nationals
Philippine Police Col. Pergentino Malabed Jr., who headed the supply management division of the national police, was among the dead. He had travelled to the U.S. to inspect equipment the Philippines was planning to purchase for its 232,000-member force, according to the Philippine police.
“His untimely passing is a profound loss to the Philippine National Police, where he served with honour, with integrity and dedication throughout his career,” police spokesperson Col. Randulf Tuano said in a statement.
The Chinese Embassy in the U.S. said two Chinese nationals were also among the victims. It did not offer further details.
Asra Hussain Raza
Raza, 26, sent a text to her husband, Hamaad, from the doomed flight as they approached Washington, saying she would land in about 20 minutes.
Hamaad Raza, 25, who was waiting at the airport for her arrival, never received another message, his father, Hashim Raza, told Reuters.
Wichita Mayor Lily Wu held a press conference on Thursday to update the public after a passenger jet flying from Wichita crashed in the Washington area after colliding with a helicopter.
The couple met at Indiana University Bloomington according to Hashim Raza, father of Hamaad. Asra Hussain Raza then earned her master’s degree in public health and was working with a consulting group in Washington, with the ultimate goal of working for the government to improve public health, her father-in-law said.
“All she wanted to do was help people, and D.C., she thought, was the place to achieve her goals,” Raza said. “And she was such a great cook — Indian, Italian, Chinese food. I told her to open a restaurant.”
She travelled to Wichita about once or twice a month to help turn around a hospital, he said.
Wendy Shaffer
Bill Melugin, a Fox News correspondent and a friend of the family, confirmed her death and posted a statement from Shaffer’s husband, Nate, in an X post.
Shaffer, who lived in Charlotte, devoted her life to her family, including her two small children, ages one and three, friends said on Thursday.
Members of a Maryland union
Those killed also included four steamfitters, all members of a United Association union local in suburban Maryland, union leaders said in a social media post Thursday.
“Our focus now is on providing support and care to the families of our Brothers as we continue to gather more information in the coming days,” said the post by UA general president Mark McManus and Chris Madello, the business manager of Local 602.
Hunters returning from trip
Seven people returning from a guided hunting trip were killed, according to a Facebook post by Fowl Plains, the guide service out of Great Bend, Kan.
The Fowl Plains team said they had grown close to the hunters on board the flight over the years and considered them to be family members. The post doesn’t identify the hunters by name, but it says they had spent the past week on a guided hunt, “laughing, talking about our families and sharing memories.”
“Heartbroken is an understatement,” the company said.
