A member of the audience prays for the lives lost on flight 5342 on Jan. 29.
One year after 67 people lost their lives in an aviation accident at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C., members of Wichita’s faith communities gathered residents together in City Hall to mark the first anniversary of the crash.
On January 29, 2025, American Airlines Flight 5342 left Wichita’s Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport. Aboard were two pilots, two flight attendants and 60 passengers. The passengers included business travelers, a group of friends returning from a hunting trip and young ice skaters wrapping up a development camp after the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
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KMUW
Roy Moye III sings a rendition of "Rise Up" to the audience at the interfaith prayer remembrance gathering on Jan. 29. The event was hosted by the Greater Wichita Ministerial League.
The flight was coming in to land at Reagan National Airport when it collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on a training mission. The three pilots aboard the helicopter and everyone on the American Airlines flight were killed.
Members of the Greater Wichita Ministerial League and Wichita city officials said that time has brought a distance from that day, but not from the pain it brought. “One year does not diminish loss,” said Mayor Lily Wu. “Grief has no timeline and for many families it remains close — including for families here in Wichita today.”
Seven of the passengers were native Kansans: Pete “PJ” Diaz, 30; Kiah Duggins, 30; Lindsey (Carter) Fields, 40; Grace Maxwell, 20; Dustin Miller, 43; Bob Schrock, 58; and Lori (Girard) Schrock, 56.
Jared Mortensen, the second counselor of the Derby stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints, was moved to tears as he offered a prayer for the families and loved ones of the passengers and crew.
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Mayor Lily Wu offers the opening remarks of a prayer service marking the first anniversary of the crash of a Wichita-based passenger flight and Army helicopter. Wu told the crowd that “grief has no timeline and for many families it remains close."
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Reverend Pamela Myrtis Hughes, the president of the Greater Wichita Ministerial League, addresses to a crowd gathered for the prayer vigil. The service marked the anniversary of the fatal crash of American Airlines Flight 5342 and an Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington D.C.
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Wichita-area faith leaders gathered together to host a prayer service on Jan. 29. The service memorialized the victims of American Airlines Flight 5342 and US Army PAT25.
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Hugo Castillo sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" from the musical Carousel during an interfaith prayer service at Wichita City Hall.
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Faith leaders gathered around a photo of the memorials created in the wake of the American Airlines Flight 5342 crash. Wichitans left notes of support at the Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, where Flight 5342 departed from on Jan. 29, 2025.
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U.S. Representative Ron Estes and Wichita Mayor Lily Wu pray together on Jan. 29. Estes serves as the representative for Kansas's fourth congressional district.
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Reverend Karen Robu recites the names of the passengers, pilots and crew who died in the Jan. 29, 2025 crash between a passenger jet and Army helicopter. Robu is senior minister of the Plymouth Congregational Church in Wichita.
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Jared Mortensen tearfully prays for the families and loved ones of the crash victims. Mortensen is the second counselor in the presidency of the Derby stake of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints.
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Paula Pepperstone, cantor of Ahavath Achim Congregation in Wichita, prays for first responders to the Jan. 29, 2025 crash in Washington D.C.
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A member of the audience watches the interfaith prayer service on Jan. 29.
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Kimberly McLaurian sings a rendition of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" in the Wichita City Council chambers during an interfaith prayer vigil.
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Pastor Ronda Kingwood of Heart of Christ United Methodist Church speaks to the crowd at the interfaith prayer service. Kingwood is the chaplain of the Greater Wichita Ministerial League.
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Reverend Ralen Robinson prays for healing and hope on Jan. 29. Robinson leads Wichita's Reformation Lutheran Church.
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Two Wichita Police Officers watch the interfaith prayer service on Jan. 29.
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Elder Don Crowley prays for peace at the interfaith prayer service on Jan. 29. Crowley is a member of the First Church of God in Christ.
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Reverend Sam McVay Jr. prays for leaders on Jan. 29. The service went from noon to 1 p.m.
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Members of the audience pray together on Jan. 29.
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Roy Moye III sings a rendition of "Rise Up" to the audience at the interfaith prayer remembrance gathering on Jan. 29. The event was hosted by the Greater Wichita Ministerial League.
Zach Ruth / KMUW
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Mike Zamrzla, the deputy state director for U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, wipes his eyes after a prayer on Jan. 29. Many audience members cried, prayed and sang along with the worship leaders.
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Associate Pastor Marsha Haney from St. Mark United Methodist Church delivers the closing prayer on Jan. 29. Haney serves as the assistant chaplain of the Greater Wichita Ministerial League which hosted the event along with the city of Wichita.
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A member of the audience prays for the lives lost on flight 5342 on Jan. 29.
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People gather to talk after the interfaith prayer service on Jan. 29. The event was put on with the help of the City of Wichita.
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Reverend Karen Robu of Plymouth Congregational Church said all of the passengers were “friends, mothers, fathers and children with so much living and loving left to do.”
The Reverend Sam McVay Jr. said those losses are shared by all of Wichita.
"When a tragedy happens to families and individuals, it also happens to communities,” McVay said. “It happens to church communities that love. It happens to cities that feel, and even nations."
He called on local and federal leaders to have a clarity of vision in moving the community toward recovery.
Through their mourning, many of the family members of the passengers and crew have had that clarity of purpose. Families have organized to support and highlight the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into the crash. Many traveled to Washington D.C. this week for the release of the NTSB’s findings.
Some families have lent their time and energy to advocating for safety recommendations put forward by the NTSB and lobbying in support of legislation like the ROTOR Act — a bill which would require improved aircraft navigation and safety equipment.
Family members have also filed lawsuits against the federal government, American Airlines, its regional operator and the U.S. Army. Late last year, a filing from the Justice Department in one of those cases admitted that failures by the pilots of the army helicopter and air traffic controllers at DCA.
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KMUW
Mike Zamrzla, the deputy state director for U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, wipes his eyes after a prayer on Jan. 29. Many audience members cried, prayed and sang along with the worship leaders.
Pamela Myrtis Hughes, ministerial league president and reverend of the St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church closed the vigil with a challenge to Wichita.
“We can then continue to pray, continue to reach out to those families, but also continue to be together as a community,” Myrtis Hughes said. “We are thankful that we are not just responding today, but each and every day.”
