Thursday marks one year since that devastating midair collision over the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport killed 67 people.
Victims’ families flew in from across the country on Wednesday for a private memorial service at DAR Constitution Hall. It focused on the lives that were lost and first responders who were there when tragedy hit.
For the families, it’s all about ensuring their loved ones are never forgotten. One by one, the victims were highlighted and honored by their loved ones.
“It’s a big loss. I can feel it every day,” said Ashleigh Stovall, the wife of Flight 5342 Mikey Stovall. They were married for more than 19 years.
The last 365 days for her and his mother, Christina Stovall, haven’t been easy.
“It’s been really hard to think about and focus on, and in the beginning,” Ashleigh Stovall said. “I couldn’t really think about it too much, I know some other people were like that and then as time went on we started to think about it a little bit more.”
The family’s dedication with the other victims’ loved ones have been steadfast on improving the skies.
“Safer skies,” Christina Stovall said. “[…] We just don’t want another family to go through what we’ve gone through.”
For others like Doug Lane, who lost his wife Christine and son Spencer, the anniversary is a day of reflection for the lives lost.
“While we were powerless in that moment to help our loved ones, we were not powerless to help each other,” he said.
The service also highlighted the first responders who rushed to the scene that tragic night.
“Many of you risked your own lives in an effort to save our loved ones’ lives,” said Matthew Collins, the brother of Chris Collins. “The courage and compassion you showed will never be forgotten,”
Through long and often convoluted hearings and revelations about that horrific night to the U.S. government taking some responsibility for the midair collision, the coalition of victim loved ones have relied on each other to make it to one year since the tragedy.
“We have new families, we have extended families, people who our paths probably wouldn’t have crossed had this tragedy not happened,” Christina Stovall said.
Now that a year has passed since the tragedy, both families and leaders are focused on advocacy so the lives lost are not forgotten, but serve as a rallying cry toward improvement.
“I think that it lit a fire under all of us,” Ashleigh Stovall said. “So I think there are going to be some changes.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
