Video: Husband shares last texts with wife on doomed American flight 5342
Emergency response teams assess airplane wreckage in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington airport. Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
In a deeply emotional revelation, Hamaad Raza shared the heartbreaking final texts he exchanged with his wife before the tragic collision that claimed her life.
His 26-year-old wife was among the 60 passengers on board Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas to Washington, which collided with a military helicopter just before 9pm on Wednesday night.
As the crash unfolded, Raza had been frantically trying to reach his wife, unaware of the disaster that was about to strike.
‘I’m just praying that somebody’s pulling her out of the river right now, as we speak. That’s all I can pray for, I’m just praying to God,’ Raza told WUSA9.
Raza revealed the plane was so close to landing that his wife got reception and was able to text him immediately before the crash.
Raza then showed the reporter, who described it as ‘one of the most heartbreaking interviews of my professional career’ what he’d sent her on his phone.
‘She texted me that they were landing in 20 minutes. The rest of my texts didn’t get delivered and that’s when I realized that something might be up,’ he said.
The couple’s final messages exchanged moments before the impact were filled with love and concern, only for the communication to be tragically cut off.
The collision, involving the American Airlines jet and a military Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter, has left the entire nation in mourning.
Law enforcement sources have told CNN that there are confirmed fatalities and that no survivors have yet been rescued.
