Thirty of the 67 people who tragically lost their lives when a military helicopter collided with a commercial airplane in Washington, D.C.,, have been named.
Among the victims were figure skating sisters Everly, 14, and Alydia Livingston, 11.
At 8:47 p.m. ET on January 29, a PSA Airlines aircraft, owned by American Airlines, collided mid-air with a Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers on a training mission, according to a U.S. military official.
Flight 5342 was on its final approach to Ronald Reagan National Airport after departing from Wichita, Kansas, when the collision occurred. The wreckage of both the airplane, which carried 60 passengers and four crew members, and the helicopter crashed into the Potomac River.
A full list of verified victims includes 26-year-old Asra Hussain, whose husband, Hamaad Raza, told WUSA9 that he had been in contact with her just minutes before the incident.
“I’m just praying that someone is pulling her out of the river right now as we speak, that’s all I can pray for. I’m just praying to God,” Raza told the news outlet. “She texted me that they were landing in 20 minutes.”
After realizing his later messages were undelivered, he suspected something had gone wrong.
Those confirmed deceased at the time of writing include: Spencer and Christine Lane, Grace Maxwell, Evgenia Shishkova, Vadim Naumov, Jinna and Jin Han, Asra Hussain, First Officer Samuel Lilley, Captain Jonathan Campos, Danasia Elder, and Ian Epstein, both of whom were flight attendants.
Black Hawk crew member Ryan O’Hara, 40-year-old Mark Stovall, 30-year-old Jesse Pitcher, 59-year-old Inna Volyanskaya, Wendy Shaffer, Alexandr Kirsanov, Sean Kay, and Angela Yang, as well as Everly and Alydia Livingston, Natalya Gudin, and another individual named Alexandr Kirsanov, were also among the victims.
Other victims include Kiah Duggins, Elizabeth Keys, Sarah Lee Best, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, the Black Hawk pilot, 12-year-old Brielle Beyer, and 42-year-old Justyna Beyer.
Inna Volyanskaya, a Disney on Ice skater and actor who once competed for the Soviet Union, was among the deceased.
“She was one of the best skaters I’ve ever seen, honestly. She was one of the best pair girls to skate,” her ex-husband, Ross Lansel, told News4.
“Just knowing the impact she made on all the skaters and everyone just hurts my soul. I just wish all those kids she taught—my condolences and prayers go out to them.”
Source; www.unilad.com