Wednesday night saw one of the most deadliest aviation disasters in the US since 2001. When American Airlines Flight 5342 collided with the Army helicopter as it approached the airport.
President Donald Trump confirmed that there were no survivors. Two Indian-origin individuals – an aerospace engineer and a consultant – were among the people who were killed during the mid-air collision between an American Airlines passenger plane and an Army helicopter in Washington DC.
Asra Hussain Raza, the daughter of Indian immigrants, was on that flight. Raza, 26, her father-in-law, Dr. Hashim Raza, told CNN.
Who Was Asra Hussain Raza?
A daughter of Indian immigrants, Raza graduated with honours in 2020 from Indiana University and married her college sweetheart in August 2023, Hashim said.
Her father-in-law said Raza was a consultant based in Washington, DC, who travelled to Wichita twice a month to work on a turnaround project for a hospital there.
She would often call him at the end of his late emergency room shifts to make sure he stayed awake on the drive home, he told CNN.
“She went out of her way for everybody,” her father-in-law said.
The husband of Raza of the Potomac crash said his wife texted him that she was about to land, but by the time he got to the airport to pick her up, his life had changed forever.
“She said, ‘We’re landing in 20 minutes,” Hamaad Raza said.
That was the last thing he heard from his wife.
“I was waiting and I started seeing a bunch of EMS vehicles speeding past me, like way too many than normal, and two, my texts weren’t going through,” Hamaad was quoted as saying by NBCwashington.
“It’s just, feels crazy that it happened to us, to be honest,” he said.
“I mean, it’s like you see these things happen in the news, you see them happen in other countries. And then, I show up to the airport, and my wife’s not responding, and I look on Twitter and I see that it’s her flight.” He said he’s been surrounded by loved ones who are all devastated by the tragic and unexpected loss.
The second Indian-origin person to lose his life in the tragic crash is Vikesh Patel. Patel, from Greater Cincinnati, was employed with GE Aerospace for nearly 12 years and took up the role of an MRO – maintenance, repair, and overhaul – Transformation Leader last April, as per his LinkedIn profile.
We are deeply saddened by the tragedy last night in Washington, D.C. Our hearts are with all the families impacted. pic.twitter.com/XUdAka98S2
— GE Aerospace (@GE_Aerospace) January 30, 2025
On Friday, GE Aerospace tweeted and said, “This is a tragedy not only for our industry, but also for the GE Aerospace team as one of our cherished colleagues was onboard the flight.”
Larry Culp, chairman and CEO of GE Aerospace, identified the employee as Patel in a statement to the Cincinnati-based FOX19 TV channel.
He worked for GE Aerospace for more than a decade in various roles, including Engine Assembly Engineer, Production Planner, Senior Operations Manager, Lean Transformation Coach, and Site Leader, before his position changed in April 2024.
