A man has disclosed what led him to believe that anything was amiss after losing his wife and 12-year-old daughter in the tragic American Airlines disaster.
On Wednesday, January 29, just before 9 p.m., a Black Hawk US Army helicopter and an American Airlines-owned PSA Airlines aircraft collided in midair.
When the accident occurred, Flight 5342 was getting ready to arrive at Ronald Reagan National Airport, which is close to Washington, D.C.
The wreckage of the chopper and the plane, which had 60 passengers and four crew members on board, fell into the Potomac River.
Three individuals on the helicopter and 64 people on the commercial plane are thought to be dead, and a “recovery” mission is still in progress.
A man’s wife and his 12-year-old daughter, who had previously survived cancer, are among the victims.
After losing his daughter Brielle and his wife Justyna, 42, while returning to the capital after participating in the US Figure Skating National Development Camp, Andy Beyer spoke with ABC News.
Beyer talked about his daughter, who was diagnosed with cancer when she was a newborn, saying, “She was just such a fighter in everything she did.” She simply made the most of every moment of existence.
“She was so proud of herself in figure skating for the progress she had made… Making that team was one of her life goals. And she achieved it. And she was just so, so proud of herself.”
When Beyer saw something was not right, he was taking the couple’s 6-year-old son to the airport to pick up his wife and daughter.
“When it was time for the plane to land, they hadn’t landed [and] we couldn’t get text messages through,” he explained.
An air traffic controller friend verified the crash, and seeing all the emergency services added to the anxiety.
Beyer told ABC News, “I didn’t have a lot of hope unfortunately, we had a good cry about it right then and there and then we had to go in with the family waiting room and everything before we, hours later, got any official word of what had fully happened.”
A ‘friend of the Beyer family’ has created a GoFundMe to assist them during this trying time.
“In a tragic turn of events, we are heartbroken to share the devastating loss of 12-year-old Brielle and her beloved mother, Justyna, who both tragically died in the recent Washington, DC, plane crash,” the website adds.
“Their absence leaves an irreplaceable void in the hearts of family and friends, and we are reaching out to our community for support during this incredibly difficult time.”
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