With the families of victims in attendance, a memorial was unveiled honoring the 67 lives lost during last January’s tragic mid-air collision near where the crash occurred.
The memorial site is located at Rivergate Park along the banks of the Potomac River in Alexandria, Virginia. The park is just south of Reagan Airport where Flight 5342 from Wichita was set to land at.
The site features a sign remembering the victims, a bench, bricks and trees that were planted. Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins spoke at the event and said the trees symbolize the strength shown by first responders and families.
“There’s a tree called a redbud, and the redbud from what I’m told is going to grow in a way that has vibrant, passionate colors as a way to symbolize the light, vision, creativity and the passion in each of your loved ones,” said Mayor Gaskins.
The memorial was designed with input from the families of the victims to mark a space for reflection and remembrance.
NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy, who has investigated the cause of the mid-air collision, also spoke at the event.
“On January 29, the world lost 67 beautiful people who have been missed every hour, every minute, every second since this tragedy occurred,” said Homendy. “The NTSB was there that night, and we will never forget you.”
Chairwoman Homendy also used the event to urge lawmakers and federal officials to pass aviation safety legislation that addresses all 50 of the NTSB’s safety recommendations following the investigation into the crash.
One lawmaker in attendance, Congressman Don Beyer, says he hopes a similar memorial site is placed in Wichita.
==The Incident==
On January 29, 2025, a Bombardier CRJ700 airliner operating as American Airlines Flight 5342 (operated by PSA Airlines as American Eagle) and a United States Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter operating as Priority Air Transport 25 collided in mid-air over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.
The collision occurred at 8:47 p.m. at an altitude of about 300 feet (100 m) and about one-half mile (800 m) short of the threshold of runway 33 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. All 67 people aboard both aircraft were killed in the crash, 64 passengers and crew on the airliner and the three crew of the helicopter.
It was the first major US commercial passenger flight crash since Colgan Air Flight 3407 in 2009, and the deadliest US air disaster since the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in 2001. This was also the third hull loss and first fatal accident involving the CRJ700 series.