American Eagle Flight 5342 collided with an Army helicopter, killing 67 people. Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the accident. This article highlights the painful stories of the victims' families as they grapple with their loss.
In the wake of the worst aviation incident since 2001, as authorities hunt for answers, victims’ families share wrenching stories of love and loss. On Jan. 29, a nightmare unfolded in the sky above the nation’s capital — the kind of aviation disaster that many believed no longer took place in the U.S. Authorities are searching for answers and say they have learned new details about the final moments before American Eagle Flight 5342 collided in mid-air with an Army helicopter.
Now comes the hardest part as family and friends of the 67 people whose lives were snuffed out in an instant are left to try to make sense of their loss. Spencer Lane had spent a thrilling few days at a prestigious training camp for rising young figure skaters when he and mom Christine boarded their flight out of Wichita, Kan., on Wednesday, Jan. 29. “I learned so much,” the 16-year-old from Barrington, R.I., shared with friends on social media that day, along with a photo of some of the “amazing people” he met., snapping a quick shot out his window of the wing beneath a slate-gray winter sky. The caption was brief: “ICT->DCA,” referring to the airports. And then the boy, who in just three years had gone from stumbling on the ice to aspiring Olympian, headed home. Above the nation’s capital — the kind of aviation disaster that many believed no longer took place in the U.S. American Eagle Flight 5342, operated by a subsidiary of American Airlines, was descending to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport’s Runway 33 when it happened. The night was clear, and the lights of Washington, D.C., flickered below. Looming in the distance, a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter — in the midst of a training mission simulating the evacuation of government officials — was heading for the passenger jet. “Do you have the CRJ in sight?” an air traffic controller asked, directing the smaller craft to pass around the jet. “Aircraft’s in sight,” a Black Hawk crew member responded. Then, disaster erupted above the Potomac River when the helicopter, for some reason, slammed into what looked to be the underside of the plane, which minutes earlier had been redirected to a new runway. “The jet was traveling around 160 miles per hour, the helicopter was going 110 miles per hour. There was no time to think,” says Capt. Mike Coffield, a veteran commercial pilot and CEO of KM Cargo. “When they hit each other, they were both in the water two and a half seconds later.” As the news began to break, Spencer’s friends, who had been devouring his training camp updates, grew worried and posted messages about hoping he was safe and would soon reply. But as the night unfolded, it became clear that the teen, along with his mom, 49, and “There’s no words that can make telling this story any easier,” he said in a statement. Lane’s grief-stricken grandfather Wayne Conrad• For more on Flight 5342, what went wrong and memories of those who were lost, pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday,from the frigid Potomac (as of press time 55 had been found), investigators with the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Army are seeking to uncover what caused such a calamity. “This is an all-hands-on-deck event,” NTSB Chairman Jennifer Homendy told reporters of the quest for answers. “We’re here to assure the American people that we are going to leave no stone unturned in this investigation.” Now comes the hardest part as family and friends of those whose lives were snuffed out in an instant are left to try to make sense of their loss. In the days since the crash Jessica Haynes’s grief occasionally slips into something that almost feels like acceptance. And then all the memories of her selfless and “super, super smart” 33-year-old sister“I don’t know why she’s gone,” Haynes, 35, says of her sibling, who was returning home to Washington from a work trip and planning a long-delayed honeymoon to Hawaii. “It doesn’t make sense. She wanted to change the world, and she could have.” Skater Maxim Naumov, 23, whom everyone called Max, lost both parents, 1994 world figure skating champions Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, who went on to become coaches in America. to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.. “Their talent and spirit live on in their exceptional and gifted son.” Katia Gordeeva, a former teammate of the couple, says Max, who died alongside his wife, Donna, and their two skating-prodigy daughters Everly, 14, and 11-year-old Alydia; an entire family, gone — was also left grappling for answers. Peter was an avid hockey player and, says Boyke, a devoted dad who shared his girls’ passion for skating.in the backyard and getting her started ice skating,” Boyke recalls, explaining how Peter covered a portion of his backyard with a tarp, boarded it off and filled it with water that would freeze in the Virginia winter
Aviation Disaster American Eagle Flight 5342 Collision Helicopter Crash Victims Families Grief Investigation
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