TWO Indian-Americans were among the 67 people killed in a mid-air collision between a US Army helicopter and a jetliner at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, media reports said.
Vikesh Patel, a GE Aerospace engineer, and Asra Hussain Raza, a Washington DC-based consultant, were on board American Airlines flight 5342 when it collided with the Army helicopter while approaching the airport on Wednesday night.
Patel, from Greater Cincinnati, had recently changed roles at GE Aerospace, where he worked as an MRO Transformational Leader, according to his LinkedIn page.
GE Aerospace chairman and CEO Larry Culp identified Patel as one of the victims in a statement to FOX19 on Thursday night. “This is a tragedy not only for our industry but also for the GE Aerospace team as one of our cherished colleagues, Vikesh Patel, was on board the flight,” Culp said. “Our hearts are with his family and all those impacted by this horrific accident.”
Patel had been with GE Aerospace for over a decade, holding roles including Engine Assembly Engineer, Production Planner, Senior Operations Manager, Lean Transformation Coach, and most recently, Site Leader before transitioning to a new position.
The collision is the deadliest aviation disaster in the US since 2001.
Raza, 26, was also among the victims, her father-in-law, Dr Hashim Raza, told CNN.
A daughter of Indian immigrants, Raza graduated with honours from Indiana University in 2020 and married her college sweetheart in August 2023, Hashim said. She worked as a consultant in Washington, DC, and regularly travelled to Wichita twice a month for a hospital turnaround project, he said.
Her father-in-law recalled how she would call him after his late-night emergency room shifts to ensure he stayed awake on the drive home. "She went out of her way for everybody," he said.
Raza's husband, Hamaad, said she had texted him shortly before landing.
“She said, ‘We’re landing in 20 minutes,’” Hamaad Raza said.
That was the last message he received from her.
“I was waiting and I started seeing a bunch of EMS vehicles speeding past me, like way too many than normal, and two, my texts weren’t going through,” he told NBC Washington.
“It just feels crazy that it happened to us, to be honest,” he said. “I mean, it’s like you see these things happen in the news, you see them happen in other countries. And then, I show up at the airport, and my wife’s not responding, and I look on Twitter and I see that it’s her flight.”
He said he has been surrounded by loved ones, all devastated by the loss.
(With inputs from PTI)
