The husband of a woman on board American Eagle flight 5342 that crashed Wednesday night after colliding with a US Army helicopter revealed he thought something “might be up” moments before the tragedy in a heartbreaking interview hours before it emerged that there were no survivors of the tragedy.
Hamaad Raza shared that his wife had been texting him while she was on board the flight from Wichita, Kansas to Washington DC when it collided with a military aircraft at around 9 p.m. on Wednesday night.
Aviation officials are yet to provide an explanation for the crash as commercial airlines are supposed to receive a warning ahead of potential collisions through a Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS).
Emergency services have been frantically wading through the water throughout the night in freezing and icy conditions in a desperate bid to find bodies amongst the wreckage.
Dozens of dead bodies have been recovered from the water, officials have said.
“I'm just praying that somebody's 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 despairingly told WUSA9 in the early hours of Wednesday.
In the heartbreaking interview, Raza showed WUSA9 reporters that his wife texted him she was “Landing in 20 minutes” but his replies failed to send and appeared as “undelivered”.
“That’s when I realized something might be up”, Raza shared.
WUSA9 reporter Larry Miller said Raza disclosed to him his wife “always had a fear of flying and that she never really was comfortable” adding that she had traveled to and from Wichita for work.
Raza is desperately waiting for answers from officials but has been hopelessly left in the dark concerning any information about his wife.
Sky News reporters interviewed a man at Ronald Reagan National Airport who told them his “daughter’s best friend and her mom” were on board the flight when it plummeted into the icy river.
The pair had been traveling back to Washington DC for an “athletics trip” based in Kansas – one of the pair was an ice skater, he said.
Multiple Figure Skating Championship contestants and coaches are believed to have been on board the plane when it plummeted.
Russian state media reported that ice skating coach and former world champion Evgenia Shishkova, her husband, and possibly her son may have been among those on board the plane.
All 67 people on board both aircraft that crashed down into the Potomac River are feared dead, Kansas Senator Roger Marshall said. None of the helicopter’s three crew were senior Army officials, authorities said.
All flights in and out of Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan National Airport have been paused until at least 11 a.m. Thursday. Video footage from the nearby Kennedy Center shows two sets of lights consistent with separate aircraft appearing to conjoin in a fireball.
"I have been fully briefed on the terrible accident which just took place at Reagan National Airport,” President Donald Trump said. “May God Bless their souls.”
American Airlines said in a statement: “If you believe you may have loved ones on board Flight 5342, call American Airlines toll-free at 800-679-8215. Those calling from outside the U.S. can visit news.aa.com for additional phone numbers. Family members in Canada, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands can call 800-679-8215 directly.”
