A Pakistani woman, Asra Hussain Raza, was among the victims of a tragic mid-air collision in the United States involving a passenger aircraft and a military helicopter.
Asra was traveling on American Airlines Flight 5342 when it was struck midair by a US military Black Hawk training helicopter, resulting in a devastating crash. Shortly before the accident, she had messaged her husband, Hamaad Raza, informing him that she would be landing in Washington in approximately 20 minutes—her final communication before the disaster.
Hamaad, who had been waiting for her at the airport, never received another message. His father, Hashim Raza, shared with Reuters that the loss has left their family shattered.
“Asra was everything to us,” Hashim said, his voice trembling with emotion, as he traveled from Missouri to Washington to support his grieving son. “Now my son is a widower at 25. What do I even say to him? They had dreams of starting a family, and they were so excited about their future.”
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The couple met at Indiana University Bloomington, where Asra studied corporate finance and excelled as a straight-A student. Hashim recalled that when Hamaad first met her, he confidently declared, “I’m going to marry her.”
Asra later earned a master’s degree in public health from Columbia University and secured a position at a consulting firm in Washington, aiming to contribute to public health initiatives at the government level.
“Her passion was to help people, and she believed Washington, D.C., was the best place to fulfill her ambitions,” Hashim said. “She was also an amazing cook—she mastered Indian, Italian, and Chinese cuisine. I always told her she should open a restaurant.”
Asra frequently traveled to Wichita, Kansas, for work, usually making the trip once or twice a month to assist in revitalizing a hospital.
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“She had such a kind heart,” Hashim added. “She would call just to say, ‘I love you.'”
At the time of the accident, Asra was returning from a work trip in Wichita.
Her husband, Hamaad Raza, lives in Missouri, USA. A close family friend revealed that Hamaad and Asra had been married for two years. Asra was 26, while Hamaad, 25, works as an accountant at Ernst & Young. He had previously mentioned that Asra never felt entirely comfortable with air travel.
Dr. Hashim Raza, Hamaad’s father, originally hails from Karachi, Pakistan. A graduate of Dow University, he is recognized as one of Missouri’s most esteemed doctors and currently practices at Missouri Baptist Medical Center.
PM Shehbaz Expresses Condolences
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif conveyed his sorrow over the tragic mid-air collision between a passenger plane and a military helicopter in Washington, D.C.
On his official X account, the prime minister extended his condolences to US President Donald Trump and the American people during this difficult time.
“Deeply saddened by the tragic news of a mid-air accident between a passenger plane and a military helicopter in Washington, D.C. Our thoughts and prayers are with US President Donald Trump and the American people at this difficult time,” he wrote.
He also expressed his sympathies to the families of those who lost loved ones and prayed for the safety of any survivors.
Casualties and Investigation Findings
All 60 passengers and four crew members aboard the American Airlines flight tragically lost their lives. Additionally, three military personnel aboard the Black Hawk helicopter perished in the collision.
The wreckage of the passenger plane was found in three sections in the shallow waters of the Potomac River, though not all bodies have been recovered.
US authorities have yet to determine the cause of the collision. Investigators recovered the black boxes from the Bombardier CRJ700 aircraft, which was preparing to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when it collided with the Army helicopter.
Both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder have been retrieved, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). A preliminary report on the incident is expected within 30 days.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that both aircraft were flying standard flight patterns at the time, with no immediate signs of miscommunication. Air traffic controllers had alerted the helicopter of the approaching jet and instructed it to change course.
It was revealed that only one controller, rather than the usual two, was managing local air traffic at Reagan National Airport that evening—a situation deemed “not normal” but still considered acceptable for lower traffic volumes. The New York Times first reported this classification.
Concerns over air traffic controller shortages in the US have been rising, with some facilities relying on mandatory overtime and six-day workweeks due to understaffing. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) currently has approximately 3,000 fewer controllers than necessary.
This tragedy marks the deadliest aviation disaster in the US since November 2001, when an American Airlines jet crashed shortly after departing from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, killing all 260 people onboard and five on the ground.
Ronald Reagan National Airport’s main runway is one of the busiest in the country, handling over 800 takeoffs and landings daily. The NTSB has investigated nine incidents at the airport this century, two of which were fatal.