Remembering The 67 Victims Killed In The D.C. Plane Crash

OAN Staff Taylor Tinsley
5:10 PM – Monday, February 3, 2025

Teams have began efforts to clean up the wreckage of the American Airlines flight that collided with an Army Black Hawk Helicopter over the Potomac river in Washington D.C.

The Army Corps of Engineers began significant salvage operations on Monday. Debris from the wreckage is being moved to a hangar at Washington Reagan National Airport.

Police have recovered at least 55 of the 67 victims that perished. Additional human remains were discovered during the salvage operation. The D.C. Chief medical examiner is working to positively identify the recovered remains.

American Airlines Flight 5342 Crew

Relatives of the crew members confirmed pilot Jonathan Campos, 34, co-pilot Sam Lilley, 28, and flight attendants Ian Epstein, 52, and Danasia Elder, 34, were all onboard.

Epic Flight Academy, where Campos was certified to become a flight instructor, expressed their condolences.

“We are heartbroken,” said the flight academy. “Jonathan earned his Certified Flight Instructor rating with us and served as a valued flight instructor here. He was a skilled and dedicated pilot with an undeniable passion for flying.”

^{Courtesy: Jonathan Campos Facebook}

In a Facebook post, Lilley’s father wrote “I was so proud when Sam became a pilot. Now it hurts so bad I can’t even cry myself to sleep.”

Lilley’s father said his son was engaged to get married in the fall. A friend described him as “a person that lived life to the fullest and was just the happiest person around.”

A coworker described Epstein as a “truly exceptional individual, distinguished by his remarkable warmth and empathy.”

Elder was a devoted mother, wife, and flight attendant. “Danasia was very dedicated to being a flight attendant,” a former classmate said. “She loved her family tremendously, and she would just light up whenever she spoke about them.”

The Skating Club of Boston

Nearly half of the members of the flight were part of the figure skating community including prominent young competitors, many of whom were traveling with their parents.

• 13-year-old Jinna Han and her mother, Jin Hee Han.

^{Courtesy: U.S. Figure Skating}

• 16-year-old Spencer Lane and his mother, Christine Lane.

• Evgenia Shishkova, 52, and Vadim Naumov, 55. The married couple were well known in the figure skating community, as the 1994 World pairs champions, 1996 Grand Prix Final champions and two-time Olympians, representing Russia.

The Washington Figure Skating Club

• “Ice Skating Sisters” Everly and Alydia Livingston, 11, and their parents Donna and Peter.

• Franco Aparicio, 14, and his father Luciano.

^{Courtesy: U.S. Figure Skating}

• Inna Volyanskaya, 59. Volyanskaya was Everly Livingston and Aparicio’s coach.

^{Courtesy: U.S. Figure Skating}

University of Delaware Figure Skating Club

• Youth figure skaters Sean Kay and Angela Yang, both 11-years-old, along with their coach Alexandr Kirsanov.

Skating Club of Northern Virginia

• 12-year-old Brielle Beyer and her mother Justyna.

• Edward Zhou, 16, and his parents Kaiyan Mao and Yu Zhou.

• 16-year-old Cory Haynos and his parents, Stephanie and Roger.

Ion Figure Skating Club

Friends Returning From A Hunting Trip

A group of seven friends from the D.C. area were on their way home from a hunting trip in Kansas.

• Jesse Pitcher, 30.
• Michael Stovall, 40.
• Steve Johnson, 45.
• Alexander Huffman, 34.
• Charles McDaniel, 44.
• Jonathan Boyd, 40.
• Tommy Clagett, 38.

More Flight 5342 Passengers

• Kiah Duggins, 30. She was a civil rights lawyer on track to become a law professor at Howard University.
• Elizabeth Keys, 44, and her colleague Sarah Lee Best, 33.
• Grace Maxwell, 30. Maxwell was an Ohio college student coming back from her grandfather’s funeral.
• Chris Collins and Melissa Nicandri, 28. Both were analysts for financial services company, Moody’s Ratings.
• Bob and Lori Schrock, 58 and 56, were farmers from Kiowa, Kansas.
• Asra Hussain-Raza, 26.
• Mother of 2 Wendy Shaffer.
• Vikesh Patel, an Indian American engineer at GE Aerospace.
• Lindsey Fields, a biology professor at Butler Community College in Wichita, Kansas.
• Casey Crafton, a father, husband, and volunteer youth sports coach from Connecticut.
• Col. Pergentino Malabed Jr., 51, an official of the national police force of the Philippines.
• Two Chinese nationals were also on board, confirmed by the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C.

Black Hawk Crew

The U.S. Army confirmed the soldiers killed in the collision were Staff Sgt. Ryan O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland, and Capt. Rebecca Lobach, 28, of Durham, North Carolina.

The Army said Eaves “served in the U.S. Navy from August 2007 to September 2017, then transitioned to a UH-60 pilot for the regular Army from September 2017.”

O’Hara served as a UH-60 helicopter repairman in the Army from July 2014. He was also deployed to Afghanistan from March 2017 to August 2017.

Lobach served as an aviation officer in the regular Army from July 2019 to January 2025. Her awards include the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon.

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