Asra Hussain Raza, the daughter of Indian immigrants, was among 67 people killed in a devastating midair collision between an Army helicopter and a jetliner at Ronald Reagan National Airport in the US, according to media reports. The crash, the deadliest aviation disaster in the US since 2001, occurred when American Airlines Flight 5342 collided with the Army helicopter while approaching the airport on Wednesday night.
Raza, 26, was one of the victims, her father-in-law, Dr. Hashim Raza, confirmed to CNN. A Washington, DC-based consultant, Raza frequently traveled to Wichita for a hospital turnaround project. She graduated with honors from Indiana University in 2020 and married her college sweetheart in August 2023. Her father-in-law recalled how she always went out of her way for others, including staying on late-night calls to keep him awake during emergency room shifts.
Her husband, Hamaad Raza, shared his heartbreak, revealing that she had texted him just 20 minutes before landing. “By the time I got to the airport, my life had changed forever,” he told NBC Washington. He recalled watching emergency vehicles rush past him and realizing something was wrong when his texts to her stopped going through. “It’s just surreal. You see these things on the news, but you never imagine it happening to you,” he said.
The tragedy has left families and loved ones in shock, mourning the unexpected loss of passengers and crew. Investigations into the cause of the collision are ongoing.