A man whose wife is one of the passengers onboard the American Airlines plane that collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night shared their last text message exchange.
Hamaad Raza's wife sent him a text message that they were landing in "20 minutes."
After he sent her a series of reply texts from the airport, he became concerned when he noticed they weren't read.
"That's when I realized something might be up," Raza said.
A man waiting for his wife at Reagan National Airport, who was on board the commercial plane that crashed, tells local news that she texted him shortly before the crash
— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) January 30, 2025
"I'm just praying that someone is pulling her out of the river right now." 💔pic.twitter.com/qPV6eOZOjW
"I'm just praying somebody's pulling her out of the river right now as we speak," Raza told WUSA-TV. "That's all I can pray for–just praying to God."
His worst fears were confirmed on Thursday when officials said there were no survivors.
The midair collision involving a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter and commercial PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet occurred over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.
American Airlines Flight 5342 departed from Wichita, Kansas and crashed with the military aircraft as they were approaching Runway 33 at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 p.m. Eastern time.
The American Airlines plane fell into the frigid Potomac River.
American Airlines said the flight had 60 passengers and four crew members on the plane.
There were three Army personnel aboard the Black Hawk helicopter.
Officials said 27 bodied had been recovered from the plane and one from the helicopter.
Some of the passengers on the flight included American and Russian figure skaters.
President Donald Trump reacted to the tragedy, saying, "God bless their souls."
The crash remains under investigation with the NTSB as the lead agency.
