Shortly before the tragic Washington, DC midair crash, the husband of one of the American Airlines Flight 5342 passengers received a text letting him know that the plane was preparing to land at Reagan National Airport.
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While speaking to local media outlet WUSA, Hamaad Raza said his wife was onboard American Airlines Flight 5342.
“I’m just praying that someone is pulling her out of the river right now,” he said. “That’s all I can pray for.”
WASHINGTON, D.C.: A man waiting at the airport tells local news wife was onboard the aircraft and texted him shortly before crash.
— AZ Intel (@AZ_Intel_) January 30, 2025
"I'm just praying that someone is pulling her out of the river right now."
pic.twitter.com/Cg2i8eCcbH
Raza further shared that he last spoke to his wife right before the American Airlines flight crashed into the Black Hawk helicopter.
“She texted me that they were landing in 20 minutes,” he explained while showing the media outlet the text messages from his phone.
He then realized something was wrong when his replying message didn’t receive a “get delivered” notification.
“That’s when I realized something was up,” he pointed out.
American Airlines Flight 5342 was approaching Runaway 33 at Reagan National Airport when it made contact with the helicopter. The flight was scheduled to land around 9 p.m., and both aircraft landed in the freezing Potomac River.
Army spokesperson confirmed that the Black Hawk helicopter was on a “training flight” at the time of the crash. The aircraft was from Bravo Company, 12th Aviation Battalion, out of Davison Army Airfield, Fort Belvoir. The commercial flight was flying to Washington, DC, from Witcha, Kansas.
Hours into the search and rescue efforts, first responders recovered 30 bodies from the wreckage. No survivors have been found.
Newly Appointed U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Speaks Out About the Midair Crash
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided an update about the American Airlines and Black Hawk crashes, revealing that the military aircraft was on an “annual proficiency training flight.”
“At about 8:48 last night, a UH60, assigned to the U.S. Army Aviation Brigade in the military district of Washington, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, collided tragically with a civilian airliner,” Hegseth explained. “The Army unit involved was with Bravo Company, 12th Aviation Battalion at Fort Belvoir. It was an annual proficiency training flight.”
Hegseth stated that he was not going to identify the three soldiers on the helicopter until the next of kin had been notified.
“We do know on our side who was involved. It was a fairly experienced crew, and that was doing a required annual night evaluation,” he said. “They did have night vision goggles.”
Hegseth further pointed out that the U.S. Defense Department is actively investigating the crash.
“It’s a tragedy, a horrible loss of life for those 64 souls on that civilian airliner,” he added. “And of course, the three soldiers in that Black Hawk. They’re in our prayers, their families and their communities as people are notified. I can’t imagine and I know it’s it’s gone from a rescue mission to a recovery mission.”