Remembering Those Lost: Marking One Year Since the Tragic Crash of Flight AA 5342

by Anthony Losanno
Candles

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It has been one year since tragedy struck the skies over Washington DC when American Airlines flight AA5342 from Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (ICT) collided midair with a US Army Black Hawk. All 64 people on the plane and the helicopter’s three crew members perished.

The  crew was identified as Jose Campos (captain), Samuel Lilley (first officer), Ian Epstein (flight attendant), and Danasia Elder (flight attendant).

A new NTSB report says the crash was preventable and points to FAA failures such as overlapping flight paths and ignored warning signs. Lawmakers and transportation officials have promised airspace changes, while families of the victims continue to push for stronger safety reforms.

Some figure skaters and their coaches were among those on the flight and identified as Genia Shishkova (coach), Vadim Naumov (coach), Spencer Lane, Jinna Han, Eddie Zhou, Everly Livingston, Lydia Livingston, Franco Aparicio, Inna Volyanskaya (coach), Sean Kay, and Angela Yang.

I still think one of the most heartbreaking posts came from the first officer’s father.

Anthony’s Take: This tragic event happened one year ago today. My thoughts and prayers are still with the family and friends of all of those lost. Hopefully, this will lead to some reform and these lives will not have been lost completely in vain.

(Featured Image Credit: Eli Solitas via Unsplash.)

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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.

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