We’re continuing to learn more about those who lost their lives in the tragic plane crash in Washington D.C. earlier this week.
The heartbreaking incident unfolded late Wednesday night in the nation’s capital when a Black Hawk military helicopter collided with a commercial American Airlines flight. The plane, which had taken off from Wichita, Kansas and was just minutes from landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, plummeted into the icy Potomac River after the chopper made contact with the plane in mid-air.
Tragically, all 60 passengers and 4 crew on the airplane, as well as the 3 soldiers onboard the helicopter, were killed in the accident.
The investigation into the crash is ongoing, and it’s still very early in the process to determine what went wrong. If you are to listen to air traffic control audio from the time before the incident, you can hear controllers ask the helicopter whether they can see the plane. The Black Hawk seemed to confirm that they had the Bombardier CRJ-700 in sight, yet the two aircrafts collided moments later and erupted into flames.
The internet (as it often does) is running with many different theories as to what led to the mid-air collision. Some are theorizing that the helicopter confirmed they had eyes on a different plane and never actually saw American Airlines flight 5342, which had been instructed to change runways just minutes before landing at DCA. In reality, we won’t know exactly what went wrong until the investigation concludes – which could take years.
All we do know for now is that the souls aboard both the American Airlines flight and the military helicopter perished far too soon. Stories have slowly poured out confirming the names of the victims, which included dedicated flight attendants and pilots, young figure skaters that had just attended the distinguished U.S. Figure Skating’s National Development camp, and a group of duck-hunting buddies that had just taken a guy’s trip to Kansas.
According to the Wichita Eagle, a group of 10 men had traveled out to Kansas to hunt with an outfitter called Fowl Plains (based out of Great Bend). They spent almost a week having the group hunt of a lifetime, with three days of duck hunting with goose hunting and pheasant hunting mixed in throughout the trip as well. It was a highly successful hunting trip too, with the group bagging dozens of ducks and geese.
When the hunt finally came to an end, seven of the men boarded the American Airlines flight 5342, while the other three started the long drive back home. They ended up choosing the road trip option because they had brought their bird dogs with them, and felt as though it would be easier to transport their shotguns by driving.
The three men who drove home are the only survivors from the duck hunting trip. The seven men who chose to fly back – Jesse Pitcher, 30; Michael Stovall, 40; Steve Johnson, 45; Alexander Huffman, 34; Charles McDaniel, 44; Jonathan Boyd, 40 and Tommy Clagget, 38 – passed away in the plane crash.
Fowl Plains, who had just hosted the group duck hunting trip, voiced that they were shattered to hear of the unfathomable loss:
“We’ve always said our clients are more than friends. They’re family. Last night we lost 7 family members in the horrific plane crash. 7 family members we’ve had the privilege to hunt with the last few years.
We’ve spent this past week, sharing the blind, laughing, talking about our families, and sharing memories. We are completely heartbroken. Please pray for the families, friends and for our 3 other hunters in the group who were driving home. Heartbroken is an understatement.”
Just devastating… hopefully their families can find comfort in knowing that they spent many of their final days doing something they loved. Our hearts go out to the group of duck hunters, as well as the other victims of the terrible tragedy.
