0:28
- travel
- January 31, 2025
Pilot reassures passengers after tragic DC crash
"I have no higher calling than carefully -- transporting you today," he said.
\"I have no higher calling than carefully, professionally transporting you today,\" he continued. \"So with that, relax and enjoy the beautiful evening that we get to fly in. We’ll be underway shortly. Welcome aboard.\"
Sixty-seven people are dead after a regional jet collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter Wednesday night over Washington, D.C., officials said, the nation's first major commercial airline crash since 2009.
The aircraft went down in the frigid Potomac River, breaking into multiple pieces. The flight -- which had departed from Wichita, Kansas -- was approaching Reagan National Airport at the time of the collision, officials said. There were no survivors in the crash, officials said.
There were 64 passengers aboard the plane, and three Army soldiers in the helicopter, according to officials.
Mixon, who was flying to go on vacation the day after the fatal crash in D.C., told \"Good Morning America\" that \"all it takes is one event like what took place at DCA to just absolutely rattle you.\"
\"I think it’s shaken up everyone, but there’s just an added weight to be an airline employee because that could’ve been any of us,\" Mixon, who said he's been a flight attendant with American Airlines for three years, continued. \"That’s our -- what we call 'fAAmily.'\"
\"My heart was heavy, and as someone who doesn’t have a fear of flying at all, that could absolutely create a fear,\" he said. \"But I went [onto the] flight anyway trying not to dwell on it, and that pilot said the exact words I needed to hear. It felt like he was speaking to just me. But after looking around, it was clear that everyone else needed to hear it too.\"
ABC News' Julia Reinstein and Peter Charalambous contributed to this report.
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