Latest news with #HamaadRaza
Washington Post
18-02-2025
- General
- Washington Post
A crash, an alert, then the hardest days for hundreds of first responders
As American Eagle Flight 5342 headed from Wichita to Reagan National Airport on Jan. 29, Asra Hussain texted her husband, Hamaad Raza. 'We're landing in 20,' the 26-year-old wrote at 8:17 p.m. Raza left their apartment in the District to pick her up. At Fire Station 204 in Alexandria, 2½ miles from the airport, the night had been quiet. Crew members on duty washed dishes and swept the kitchen after a pot roast dinner. The firehouse doors were locked and most lights turned off. Capt. Nathan Krause, 43, finished up paperwork and got ready to turn in for the night.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Wife texted husband that she was landing in DC in 20 minutes. That was her final message
Twenty minutes before 26-year-old Asra Hussain-Raza and the other 63 people aboard American Eagle Flight 5342 were supposed to land at Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night, she texted her husband for what would be the final time. 'We're landing in 20," Hussain-Raza texted her husband, Hamaad Raza, per multiple reports. Hussain-Raza would become one of the 64 people who died when American Eagle Flight 5342 collided with a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers, who were also killed. 'She gave a lot, but she had so much more to give,' Hamaad Raza told WFIU/WTIU News. 'But if there was ever someone who took advantage of their 26 years of life, it was her. Of the 67 deceased individuals involved in the crash, more than 40 bodies have been recovered as of Friday afternoon, the Washington Post reported, citing "law enforcement official familiar with the investigation." Hashim Raza, Hussain-Raza's father-in-law, told USA TODAY on Thursday that the Indiana University (IU) graduate was a Renaissance woman who "was brilliant" and kindhearted. 'She was cultured, she was a fashion person, she was a fantastic cook," Hashim Raza said. 'She would call (friends) just to say hello and check on them. She was a very good person. It's devastating that she was only around for 26 years.' Hussain-Raza and her husband met while they both were attending IU, according to her father-in-law. The couple wed two and a half years ago. When Hashim Raza asked his son why he wanted to marry her, he answered: "She was the kindest person he'd ever met." According to IU, Hussain-Raza graduated in 2020 with a bachelor's in healthcare management and policy. She then earned her master's degree in health administration from Columbia University, IUSTV reported. At the time of the deadly collision, she was working at a Wichita, Kansas hospital for a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm. "She was returning from a work trip where she was helping to improve a hospital that really needed help," Hamaad Raza said, per WFIU/WTIU News. "And, you know, she was doing what she loved. She was even working on the flight." Paul Helmke, one of Hussain's former professors at IU, described her as a thoughtful and determined young woman. "She'd ask tough questions of our speakers, and she pushed for her point of view," Helmke told the Indianapolis Star, which is a part of the USA TODAY Network. "But that's the kind of people we want in the world. It's just such a tragedy." Contributing: Ryan Murphy & Noe Padilla/ Indianapolis Star This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DC plane crash victim Asra Hussain-Raza remembered as kind woman
USA Today
31-01-2025
- General
- USA Today
Wife texted husband that she was landing in DC in 20 minutes. That was her final message
Wife texted husband that she was landing in DC in 20 minutes. That was her final message Show Caption Hide Caption A timeline of the fatal DC plane crash This is how events unfolded before the fatal plane crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Twenty minutes before 26-year-old Asra Hussain-Raza and the other 63 people aboard American Eagle Flight 5342 were supposed to land at Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night, she texted her husband for what would be the final time. 'We're landing in 20," Hussain-Raza texted her husband, Hamaad Raza, per multiple reports. Hussain-Raza would become one of the 64 people who died when American Eagle Flight 5342 collided with a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers, who were also killed. 'She gave a lot, but she had so much more to give,' Hamaad Raza told WFIU/WTIU News. 'But if there was ever someone who took advantage of their 26 years of life, it was her. Of the 67 deceased individuals involved in the crash, more than 40 bodies have been recovered as of Friday afternoon, the Washington Post reported, citing "law enforcement official familiar with the investigation." 'It's devastating that she was only around for 26 years' Hashim Raza, Hussain-Raza's father-in-law, told USA TODAY on Thursday that the Indiana University (IU) graduate was a Renaissance woman who "was brilliant" and kindhearted. 'She was cultured, she was a fashion person, she was a fantastic cook," Hashim Raza said. 'She would call (friends) just to say hello and check on them. She was a very good person. It's devastating that she was only around for 26 years.' Hussain-Raza and her husband met while they both were attending IU, according to her father-in-law. The couple wed two and a half years ago. When Hashim Raza asked his son why he wanted to marry her, he answered: "She was the kindest person he'd ever met." Asra Hussain-Raza was working on American Eagle Flight 5342 before crash According to IU, Hussain-Raza graduated in 2020 with a bachelor's in healthcare management and policy. She then earned her master's degree in health administration from Columbia University, IUSTV reported. At the time of the deadly collision, she was working at a Wichita, Kansas hospital for a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm. "She was returning from a work trip where she was helping to improve a hospital that really needed help," Hamaad Raza said, per WFIU/WTIU News. "And, you know, she was doing what she loved. She was even working on the flight." Paul Helmke, one of Hussain's former professors at IU, described her as a thoughtful and determined young woman. "She'd ask tough questions of our speakers, and she pushed for her point of view," Helmke told the Indianapolis Star, which is a part of the USA TODAY Network. "But that's the kind of people we want in the world. It's just such a tragedy." Contributing: Ryan Murphy & Noe Padilla/ Indianapolis Star
Sky News
31-01-2025
- General
- Sky News
Washington DC plane crash: Authorities recover 41 bodies after mid-air collision
Authorities have recovered 40 bodies after a plane crash in Washington DC. Sixty-seven people were killed when an American Airlines jet and a military helicopter collided mid-air on Wednesday night. Both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River after colliding. Some 300 personnel rushed to the scene, but the rescue soon turned into a recovery mission as officials said there were no survivors. DC's fire department confirmed on Friday that 41 bodies have been recovered. Meanwhile, amid questions over how well the airport's control tower was staffed on the night of the crash, it's been confirmed that an air traffic control supervisor had let a controller leave their shift early. The detail, first reported by the New York Times, has been confirmed to Sky News' US partner NBC News by a source familiar with the investigation. 1:52 It means a single controller was handling both plane and helicopter traffic in the area when the two aircraft collided. It is allowable - but not optimal - for one controller to do both jobs, NBC News reported. The American Airlines jet was carrying 60 passengers and four crew when it crashed with the Black Hawk helicopter, carrying three soldiers, shortly before 9pm local time on Wednesday. Flight 5342 was preparing to land on runway 33 at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when it collided with the helicopter in one of the most tightly controlled airspaces in the world. 'Hug your loved ones,' says man whose wife died in crash A man whose wife was on the flight has recalled how he saw emergency services "speeding past" as he was waiting at the airport to pick her up. Hamaad Raza told NBC News his wife of two years, Asra, had "texted me [and] said, 'We're landing in 20 minutes'". "I was waiting and I started seeing a bunch of EMS vehicles speeding past me… way too many, [more] than normal and my texts weren't going through." "It's crazy that it happened to us," he said. "You see these things happen in the news, you see them happen in other countries and then I show up to the airport and my wife's not responding. I look on Twitter and I see that it's her flight." As he faces an agonising wait while the recovery mission continues, Mr Raza said the thing he would like people to understand is: "Life is short, hug your loved ones, tell them you love them. When they're getting on a flight, check up on them. Text your family when you land." 0:30 Trump makes unproven diversity drive claim Donald Trump has linked a diversity drive at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under previous governments to the crash. It has since been said there is no evidence to support the US president's claim. Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Mr Trump suggested the diversity efforts had made air travel less safe. He said: "We do not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas." While Mr Trump's claim appears to have been debunked, there are questions over staffing at Reagan Washington National Airport. NBC News reported staffing in the air traffic control tower was "not normal", according to an initial FAA report. The tower normally has a controller who focuses specifically on helicopter traffic - but at the time of the crash, a source said, one controller was overseeing both plane and helicopter activity. The FAA, which controls air traffic control as well as certification of personnel and aircraft, is without a permanent administrator. Its former boss Michael Whitaker stepped down on 20 January - the day of Mr Trump's inauguration. Mr Trump has appointed an acting administrator, Chris Rocheleau, in the wake of the crash. Mr Whitaker had clashed with Mr Trump's confidante Elon Musk over the SpaceX rocket launches during his tenure at the FAA. Since starting as head of the administration in October 2023, he was also forced to respond to Boeing's safety and quality problems, and worked to hire more air traffic controllers due to a shortage of staff. 0:19 At his briefing, Mr Trump blamed former president Joe Biden for lowering standards for air traffic controllers. "We have to have our smartest people," he said. "They have to be naturally talented geniuses." Mr Trump added: "The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems, and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency's website." 0:49 The American Association of People with Disabilities responded to these claims, saying in a statement on X: "FAA employees with disabilities did not cause [the] tragic plane crash. "The investigation into the crash is still ongoing. It is extremely inappropriate for the president to use this tragedy to push an anti-diversity hiring agenda. Doing so makes all Americans less safe." 0:44 Mr Trump also criticised former president Barack Obama for putting "policy over safety" when it came to US aviation. "I changed the Obama standards from very mediocre at best to extraordinary," he said. Mr Trump said after being sworn in last week, he signed an executive order which "restored the highest standards of air traffic controllers". "When I left office and Biden took over he changed them [standards for those who work in aviation system] back to lower than ever before, I put safety first, Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first, they put politics at a level that nobody's ever seen because this was the lowest level," he said. At a later briefing, he was asked if gender or race played a role. He answered: "It may have, I don't know. Incompetence may have played a role." US transport secretary plans FAA overhaul Transportation secretary Sean Duffy has said he is working on a plan to reform the FAA . "I am in the process of developing an initial plan to fix the @FAANews. I hope to put it out very shortly," he said on X. Mr Trump's nominee to lead the US Army, Daniel Driscoll, said at a Senate confirmation hearing that training exercises near an airport like the Washington National Airport may not be appropriate. Wednesday's crash was the deadliest in the US since November 2001, when an American Airlines flight hit a residential area of Belle Harbor, New York, just after take-off from Kennedy Airport, killing all 260 people aboard. The last major fatal crash involving a US commercial airline occurred in 2009 near Buffalo, New York, when 50 people were killed.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Husband of Crash Victim Shares Heartbreaking Final Messages
Countless people are awaiting news about their loved ones who perished in the tragic mid-air collision between an American Airlines commercial flight and Black Hawk military helicopter over the Potomac River on Wednesday night. Heartbreakingly, one man realized something had happened to his wife when their text message conversation ended abruptly and his final message failed to deliver. Speaking with the local CBS affiliate WUSA 9 News, Hamaad Raza said that his wife had texted him that the flight was landing in 20 minutes, and that ended up being the last thing he ever heard from her. "I'm just praying that someone is pulling her out of the river right now. That's all I can pray for, just praying to god," Raza told reporters as he waited near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport late Wednesday. "She texted me that they were landing in 20 minutes," he explained, showing the reporter his wife's final message to him on his phone. "The rest of my texts did not get delivered, that's when I realized something might be up," he said, clearly still in shock. American Airlines Flight 5342 had been carrying 60 passengers and four crew members en route to Washington, DC from Wichita, KS when it collided with the military helicopter with three soldiers aboard. According to the U.S. Army, the soldiers had been on a training flight when the crash occurred. The PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet had reportedly "split in two" and was sitting in about seven feet of water. Per CBS News, District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief John Donnelly said that 27 bodies had been recovered from the plane and one from the helicopter as of Thursday morning. "We don't believe there are any survivors," Donnelly told reporters in a news briefing, adding that responders on the scene had pivoted from a rescue operation to a recovery operation.
