News4 Transportation Reporter Adam Tuss sat down with Jennifer Homendy, the head of the NTSB, as she reflected on the midair disaster over the Potomac River one year ago.
One year ago Jan. 29, a plane full of passengers was moments from landing outside D.C. when it collided with a military helicopter in midair, killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft.
The victims included young figure skaters and their parents, a civil rights lawyer about to teach at Howard University School of Law and a group of friends returning from an annual duck hunting trip.
In the wake of the tragedy, families and communities are honoring the victims, first responders are grappling with what they experienced that night on the Potomac River, and transportation officials are working to make D.C.-area air travel safer.
D.C. divers describe moments after DCA crash and finding victims’ possessions for months
A year after the crash that claimed 67 lives, NBC Washington’s Mark Segraves sat down with two divers who spent days underwater on a mission for the families of the victims.
D.C. fire department diver Stephen Hater and D.C. police diver Andrew Horos were part of the first teams on the water that night. By most accounts, the first few hours on the river were chaotic. First responders knew they had to move fast, in case there were survivors.
Lt. Andrew Horos, of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Harbor Patrol Unit, said he saw quickly that “it was a very horrific, violent collision and that there were likely no survivors.”
An unmistakable odor blanketed the area.
“It was the very thick smell of, very strong smell of jet fuel in both the area where the helicopter was and where the passenger jet plane was,” Horos said.
Hater described the scene below the surface: “It was eerily clear. You could see 10 feet visibility, which is relatively unheard of in the Potomac.”
“What we saw, nothing in this career prepares you to see what we saw that night. It was kind of almost something out of a horror movie. Your worst nightmare and you’re seeing it firsthand,” he said.
Both men spent days in the water recovering those who died, as well as their possessions, including charm bracelets and a Taylor Swift bracelet.
“We’re really there to try to recover as much stuff for the families as we could, and that effort lasted, like I said, months – just trying to find every little thing we could for those family members, whether it’s an earring, wallet, watch,” Horos said.
Both divers said they will carry the memory of that night with them forever.
“What happened that night was an absolute tragedy. It’s inevitable to happen to see tragedies, but I hope to never see something like that magnitude again,” Hater said.
‘We just don’t want another family to go through what we’ve gone through’
Victims’ families flew in from across the country for a private memorial service Wednesday at DAR Constitution Hall. The service focused on the lives lost and the first responders who leapt into action when tragedy struck.
Family members said they want to ensure their loved ones are never forgotten. One by one, the victims were highlighted and honored.
“It’s a big loss. I can feel it every day,” said Ashleigh Stovall, the widow of Flight 5342 victim Mikey Stovall. They were married for more than 19 years. She spoke with News4’s Dominique Moody.
Victims’ families flew in from across the country on Wednesday for a private memorial service at DAR Constitution Hall. It focused on the lives that were lost and first responders who were there when tragedy hit. News4’s Dominique Moody reports.
The last 365 days for her and his mother, Christina Stovall, haven’t been easy.
“It’s been really hard to think about and focus on,” Ashleigh Stovall said. “In the beginning, I couldn’t really think about it too much. I know some other people were like that, and then as time went on, we started to think about it a little bit more.”
The family wants to help others avoid similar tragedies.
“Safer skies,” Christina Stovall said. “[…] We just don’t want another family to go through what we’ve gone through.”
The service also highlighted the first responders who rushed to the scene that tragic night.
“Many of you risked your own lives in an effort to save our loved ones’ lives,” Matthew Collins, the brother of Chris Collins, said. “The courage and compassion you showed will never be forgotten.”
‘Skating up in heaven’: Northern Virginia figure skaters honor victims
The figure skating community in Northern Virginia is remembering the skaters, coaches and family members killed in the disaster a year ago.
Young skaters at the Ashburn Ice House wore all black Tuesday as they skated around a newly unveiled sculpture made by a local artist to honor the victims. The silver sculpture shows two skaters holding up a candle. Its flame flickered in honor of the friends lost on Jan. 29, 2025.
“It’s hard for me to imagine it’s been one year. It feels like it’s been 10 days or 10 years,” coach Kitty McGorry told NBC Washington’s Jessica Albert.
Friends and coaches at Ashburn Ice House are paying tribute to the skaters and family members lost in the midair collision last year.
Many of the flight’s passengers had just participated in a national skating competition and development camp in Wichita, Kansas. Seventeen had ties to the Ashburn Ice House or the MedStar Capitals Iceplex in Arlington.
The victims included Ashburn skaters and sisters Alydia, 11, and Everly, 14, and their parents, Donna and Peter Livingston.
“I know that they’re still, like, skating up in heaven and they’re probably still with us. It’s just, I miss them a lot,” Alexis Winch, a young friend of the girls, said.
‘This was 100% preventable’: NTSB says disaster followed years of ignored warnings
National Transportation Safety Board members said at a daylong hearing Tuesday that they are deeply troubled over years of ignored warnings about helicopter traffic dangers and other problems long before the deadly disaster.
A helicopter route in the approach path of a runway at Reagan National Airport created a dangerous airspace —and irregular safety reviews made it worse, the board said. That was a key factor in the crash, along with air traffic overly relying on asking helicopter pilots to avoid aircraft.
The Federal Aviation Administration took steps to address those major concerns not long after the crash, but throughout the hearing, investigators emphasized the history of unaddressed risks. Those include the FAA ‘s denial of a regional supervisor’s 2023 request to reduce air traffic at Reagan and failures to relocate the helicopter route or to warn pilots more after an eerily similar near miss in 2013.
The National Transportation Safety Board held a hearing on the probable cause of the tragic midair crash over the Potomac River a year ago this week. A man who lost his brother described what he wants next: “Act on it. Do something. Save someone’s life. We can’t have this happen again.” News4’s Adam Tuss reports.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy made no apology for her sometimes-stern tone.
“We should be angry. This was 100% preventable. We’ve issued recommendations in the past that were applicable to use. We have talked about seeing and avoid for well over five decades. It’s shameful. I don’t want to be here years from now looking at other families that had to suffer such devastating loss,” she said.
Homendy also relayed her condolences.
“As a mom, I can only imagine what you’ve been through. You are in our daily prayers. I pray for you every single day,” she said.
‘Eerily silent’: NBC Washington reporters describe the night of the crash
NBC Washington reporters spent days on the cold banks of the Potomac River after the moment we learned of the disaster.
“That night, getting the call and going there, seeing what was happening around the airport, I knew pretty quickly what was going on and the gravity of the situation, because I’ve never seen anything like that,” reporter Adam Tuss said.
He covers stories about the airport so often that he calls DCA his office. He rushed there and saw flashing lights on both sides of the river. The scene was “eerily silent.”
“One of the eeriest things about that night was how quiet it was,” Tuss said.
Reporting live on NBC Washington, anchor Eun Yang said she kept the victims’ families in mind.
“My thoughts right away were for the families who were trying to figure out, ‘What happened to my loved one?'” she said.
A year later, Tuss said he still feels the magnitude of the disaster. Visiting the airport, he stares out at the water.
“I don’t know if I’m fully over it, even now,” he said.
Pilots fear airspace limits after DCA disaster could slow DC emergency response times
After a 6-year-old was kidnapped in D.C., a police helicopter was crucial to finding him fast. His father worries about what flight restrictions after the midair tragedy might mean for other families in crisis. News4’s Ted Oberg reports.
Almost immediately after the crash, aviation officials began making airspace changes aimed at making it safer to fly near D.C.
But experienced pilots told the NBC Washington Investigative Team’s Ted Oberg that the changes may have gone too far and failed to consider the impact they’re potentially having on some residents.
Daniel Hill credits a police helicopter for helping his family when the unimaginable happened Aug. 3: A man kidnapped his 6-year-old son from the parking lot of a convenience store.
D.C. police responded on the ground and had a helicopter searching for the little boy and a truck that was seen on surveillance video. Police were able to find the truck, and Hill’s son was found unharmed.
Looking back, Hill wonders if another D.C. family would be as fortunate now as his was then.
Without a helicopter, “they probably wouldn’t have found him, to be honest,” Hill said.
Getting that helicopter in the air took more approval than in the past because of changes implemented by the FAA since the crash. Special permission is now required for a helicopter to fly in certain areas.
Longtime helicopter pilot Rick Dressler said the restrictions have drawbacks and have made it particularly hard for pilots to fly over some of the D.C. area’s highest-crime neighborhoods.
“Unfortunately, what happened after the collision was a knee-jerk response and a lot of unnecessary changes being made in the airspace by the FAA,” he said.
Go here for the I-Team’s full report, including what we learned about denied requests for helicopter flights near DCA.
15-year-old girl who lost her mother and sister in crash honors them through music
The plane’s passengers included 12-year-old Olivia Ter and her mother, Olesya. They were headed home from a figure skating camp in Wichita when they were killed.
Almost a year since the midair collision near Reagan National Airport that killed 67 people, the daughter and sister of two victims honors her family through music. News4’s Aimee Cho spoke with her.
Olivia’s sister, 15-year-old Anne Valerie, is an accomplished pianist who told NBC Washington’s Aimee Cho she aims to honor her sister and mother through her music.
“It gives me more motivation to practice, definitely, because I know my mom and sister really liked me playing piano,” she said.
The Alexandria resident recently won a prestigious competition at her music school.
“It’s good, because it feels like I’m doing something they loved,” she said.
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The Associated Press contributed reporting.
