Latest news with #AmericanAirlines5342
USA Today
02-03-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Figure skating icons honor victims of D.C. plane crash at 'Legacy on Ice' tribute
Figure skating icons honor victims of D.C. plane crash at 'Legacy on Ice' tribute Show Caption Hide Caption Top U.S. figure skaters gather to honor flight crash victims with show U.S. figure skating's biggest names are coming together for 'Legacy on Ice', a tribute show for the victims of the tragic flight crash on January 29th. Sports Pulse WASHINGTON — When American Airlines 5342 fatally collided with a military helicopter over the Potomac River a little more than one month ago, the first feelings that rippled throughout the U.S. figure skating community were shock and grief − mourning for the skaters, coaches and parents who were lost. Then, it was: What can we do to honor them? "As skaters," 1992 Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi explained, "we learn to express our emotions through artistry." And so, on Sunday, they took to the ice at Capital One Arena for "Legacy on Ice," a two-hour tribute show to honor the 67 victims in the Jan. 29 crash and raise money for the families and first responders who were impacted. The exhibition included appearances by some of the most legendary names in U.S. figure skating, from co-hosts Yamaguchi and 1988 Olympic gold medalist Brian Boitano to 1968 gold medalist Peggy Fleming. And it featured performances on the ice by current and former Olympic and world champions, including Nathan Chen and Ilia Malinin, and retired fan favorites, such as NBC analyst Johnny Weir. All told, more than 40 current and retired Team USA skaters participated, with medalists from eight different editions of the Winter Olympics among them. "My grandfather would always tell me ... that when people come together and you share your wins and your victories together, they double. And when you share the losses and you share the tragedies, those sorrows get cut in half," two-time Olympian Jason Brown said. "And that's kind of how I feel coming together." Sunday's show featured individual tributes to the 11 young figure skaters who died in the Jan. 29 crash, in which a military helicopter collided with a passenger plane returning from Wichita, Kansas − the site of a national development camp for the country's top skating talent. Four of the skaters' coaches and 13 family members also died in the crash. The show also included video tributes and a round of applause for the estimated 400 first responders and family members who were in attendance. Perhaps the show's most poignant moment was the performance of Maxim Naumov, who lost both of his parents, 1994 pairs champions Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, in the crash. Naumov skated to his parents' favorite song − a song that, Boitano explained in his introduction, would prompt them to spontaneously slow dance together whenever it came on. After the performance, he fell to the ice and sobbed as the crowd at Capital One Arena gave him an extensive round of applause. "The skating community is such a small and close-knit community in so many ways, so the tragedy was felt really, really deeply," retired Olympic skater Gracie Gold said. "And I had no doubt that so many of us would turn out for this event." A little more than a month ago, Gold traveled to Wichita, Kansas to serve as a coach at the development camp, working with young skaters on their jumps. After hosting a Q&A session at the end of the camp's final day, she traveled with some of those skaters to the airport, stood with them in security lines, chatted with some of their coaches and then boarded a plane home. About 90 minutes later, American Airlines 5342 took off from Wichita, bound for Reagan Washington National Airport. "It's been really difficult for the whole community," Gold said Saturday evening. "Just to see something good come from such a horrible event is really, really special." Contact Tom Schad at tschad@ or on social media @
CBS News
31-01-2025
- General
- CBS News
D.C. plane crash pilot identified as Brooklyn native Jonathan Campos
NEW YORK — At least two crew members on American Airlines 5342, which crashed in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday night, had ties to New York City. The pilot of American Airlines 5342 has been identified as Jonathan Campos, 34, and a flight attendant has been identified as Danasia Brown Elder. Both were raised in Brooklyn before moving down south. Campos "wanted to be a pilot from the time he was a little boy," ex-fiancée says Campos dreamt of flying planes since he was a kid, according to longtime friends. He was raised in southern Brooklyn and attended John Dewey High School, according to ex-fiancée Nicole Suissa, who says they were high school sweethearts. She remembers him as a bright and ambitious student with a taste for adventure. "He's being publicized for how he died. But really, this was the boy who taught me how to live. He was good at it," Suissa told CBS News New York reporter Hannah Kliger. She says they met freshman year and remained friends more than a decade after their breakup. He moved to Florida shortly after his high school graduation. "He wanted to be a pilot from the time he was a little boy. I wanted to be a lawyer from the time I was a little girl. And we made good on it," she recalled. Suissa has fond memories of his love of racing and his "need for speed." "He started racing motorcycles. He rides horses, is part of an equestrian club down in Florida where he lived. He was a helicopter pilot. He had his commercial license," she said, adding that he also loved to sky dive and scuba dive. Former teachers remember Campos as "a great kid" Lane Rosen is a retired high school teacher, and taught Campos biology at Dewey nearly two decades ago. "I remember him from taking every science class that the school had to offer. I believe he took seven science classes in three or four years," he said. Rosen recalls coordinating to meet up with Campos in Orlando, years later, on a trip to Disney World. "He drove all the way from Ormond Beach, took me and my family out for drinks and dinner, and we had a wonderful time," he said. Campos also left an impression on another teacher, Jennifer Rubinfeld, who saw a post about him on Facebook. "He had the same face. As soon as I saw his name and his face, my heart just dropped," she said as she realized he was in her class the first year of her career, 22 years ago. She shared a photo of the two of them at I.S. 303 in Coney Island. "He worked so hard, he wanted to be successful academically, he was always so respectful and polite. He would always ask how you were and he cared, he was just such a great kid," she said. Wife, mother of 2 killed in D.C. plane crash Danasia Brown Elder has also been identified as one of the flight attendants on board. Her friends and family say she grew up on the western end of Coney Island and moved to North Carolina after her mother died. Three loved ones who are part of a large but tight-knit group of extended family and friends say they're devastated to learn of the death of the wife and mother of two.
Washington Post
30-01-2025
- General
- Washington Post
A deadly crash at DCA and the power of good government
Regarding the Jan. 30 front-page article 'Bodies pulled from Potomac after collision of aircraft': I have worked at the Federal Aviation Administration's Indianapolis Air Route Traffic Control Center for 16 years. Though we don't yet know the cause of the midair collision and crash of American Airlines 5342 on Wednesday, the disaster is a somber reminder of the tragedies that can result when pilots or air traffic controllers lose situational awareness.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Captain Sully Offers His Take on American Airlines 5342, Helicopter Collision
Capt. Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger shared his expert opinion on what he thinks went wrong in the fatal crash of American Airlines Flight 5342 during an appearance on MSNBC on Thursday morning. Sullenberger stressed that it was important not to jump to conclusions about what led to the crash, which killed at least 67 people as it collided with an Army helicopter as it approached Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night. 'It's early, we really don't know much yet,' Sullenberger said on 'Morning Joe.' Still, the retired captain explained the 'common technique' called 'visual separation' that he believed was involved in the crash. 'That transfers the separation responsibility from the air traffic controller to the pilot tools that said that they have the aircraft in sight,' Sullenberger said about the U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter. The military craft is 'supposed to be looking at' and maintaining 'their own separation' from the airplane, he explained. 'Obviously, that separation at some point was lost,' Sullenberger said. 'So that clearly is going to be something that's going to be looked at, along with perhaps hundreds or thousands of other facts and contributing factors.' Sullenberger famously saved 150 lives when he safely landed a crashing U.S. Airways flight on the Hudson River in 2009. His heroic effort was later made into a movie, aptly titled 'Sully,' by Clint Eastwood in 2016, with Tom Hanks starring as the captain. On Thursday, Sullenberger said it could take up to a year before a final report is shared with the public on the crash. This was the first commercial airline crash in the U.S. since 2009. 'Throughout the history of aviation… we have learned from costly lessons, often with blood,' he added. 'And it's important to always realize that as safe as we have made aviation, we can't relax. We have to keep on working harder and anticipate the next challenge.' The post Captain Sully Offers His Take on American Airlines 5342, Helicopter Collision appeared first on TheWrap.
The Independent
30-01-2025
- General
- The Independent
Mapped: How American Airlines plane collided with Black Hawk army helicopter near Washington DC airport
An American Airlines 5342 operating as a PSA Airlines jet collided with a US Army Sikorsky Blackhawk helicopter as both flew close to Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington DC at around 9 p.m. local time Wednesday. All 67 people on board both aircraft are feared dead, Kansas Senator Roger Marshall said Wednesday night. None of the helicopter's three crew were senior Army officials, authorities said. Close to 20 bodies have been recovered from the water, according to multiple networks. All flights in and out of Washington, D.C.'s Ronald Reagan National Airport have been grounded until at least 11 a.m. Thursday. The Wichita flight to Reagan National Airport has only been running for a year and politicians fought hard to get it going. U.S. Senator Jerry Moran announced the American Airlines direct flight from Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (ICT), Wichita, to Washington Reagan National Airport, DC, would make travel 'faster and more affordable' for Kansas residents in July 2023. Video footage from the nearby Kennedy Center shows two sets of lights consistent with separate aircraft appearing to conjoin in a fireball. 'Mutual aid from neighboring agencies were called to assist, and takeoffs and landings at the airport were halted for the remainder of the evening. We will continue to post information as it becomes available. 'We are not expecting flights to resume until at least 11 a.m. today, January 30. Please check back for updates, and contact your airline directly for schedule updates.' According to provisional data from FlightAware, American Airlines Flight 5342 took off from Wichita, Kansas at around 17:22 CST and was in the air for two hours and 35 minutes, with an estimated arrival time in Washington DC for 20:57 EST. But the flight tracking data showed the flight's status result as 'unknown' and according to the visuals, the plane stopped midair on the east side of the Potomac River, roughly adjacent to Blue Pains in DC. What we now know is that the plane collided with a US military Blackhawk Helicopter that was traveling southbound with three people onboard. Floating ice, chilly waters, and darkness: Challenges of the rescue operation As a fleet of divers comb the Potomac River in search of survivors, Washington Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly revealed the challenges that they face. 'The challenges are access. The water that we're operating in is about 8 feet deep,' Washington Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said. 'There is wind, there is pieces of ice out there. So it's just dangerous and hard to work in.' He continued: 'And because there's not a lot of lights, you're out there searching every square inch of space to see if you can find anybody. 'Divers are doing the same thing in the water. The water is dark, it is murky, and that is a very tough condition for them to dive in.' Washington's Mayor Muriel Bowser offered her thoughts and prayers for the victims in a statement on X: 'Tonight, as our first responders continue their efforts, we are sending our love and prayers to the families, loved ones, and communities who are experiencing loss during this terrible tragedy.' She shared that the next briefing would be held 7:30 a.m. CST at DCA live on X. President Donald Trump made an announcement on the incident: "I have been fully briefed on the terrible accident which just took place at Reagan National Airport. 'May God Bless their souls.' American Airlines released a statement that read: 'If you believe you may have loved ones on board Flight 5342, call American Airlines toll-free at 800-679-8215. Those calling from outside the U.S. can visit for additional phone numbers. Family members in Canada, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands can call 800-679-8215 directly.' Ronald Reagan Airport has a notice that reads: 'Around 9 p.m. on Wednesday evening, emergency personnel at Reagan National Airport initiated their response to a crash between a passenger aircraft, identified by the FAA as American Eagle flight 5342, and a Sikorsky helicopter. This is a developing story.
