'The plane is about to land' - last words of Pakistan's Asra aboard US flight
Pakistan
All 60 passengers and four crew members were confirmed dead
WASHINGTON (Dunya News) – “The plane is about to land…” were the last words of Asra Hussain Raza, the only Pakistani traveller in the ill-fated passenger plane which ended up in the river after a midair collision with an army helicopter.
Asra sent a text to her husband Hammad Raza 20 or so minutes before the plane was scheduled to land at Washington’s Reagan National Airport. She was aboard the flight 5342 and sent the message to her husband – both oblivious to what’s going to happen next.
Reports said Hammad was waiting at the airport for her arrival at that time.
“Asra was everything to us," said her father-in-law Hashim Raza, holding back tears with a quavering voice. He told Reuters, “And now my son is a widower at 25. What do I say to him? They planned to have children, they were so much looking forward to that.”
The couple met at Indiana University Bloomington, where she studied corporate finance and was a straight-A student.
Hashim said when his son first met Asra, he declared: "I'm going to marry her."
Asra later earned her master's degree in public health from Columbia University and got a job with a consulting group in Washington, with the ultimate goal of working for the government to improve public health, her father-in-law said.
Also Read: Investigators find black boxes after Washington plane crash, continue search for answers
She travelled to Wichita about once or twice a month to help turn around a hospital, he said.
"She was an extremely caring person," he said. "She'd call just to say, 'I love you.'"
She had travelled to Wichita, Kansas, for work-related matters and was on her way back when the unfortunate incident occurred.
Raza resides in the state of Missouri, USA. According to a close family friend, Hamaad and Asra had been married for two years. Asra was 26 years old, while Hamaad is 25. Both were graduates of Indiana University.
Hamaad currently works as an accountant at Ernst & Young, and he mentioned that his wife never considered air travel to be a comfortable experience.
PM SHEHBAZ OFFERS CONDOLENCES
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the loss of lives caused by the midair accident between a passenger plane and a military helicopter in Washington DC.
On his X timeline, the prime minister conveyed his condolences to US President Donald Trump and the American people at this difficult time.
“Deeply saddened by the tragic news of a mid-air accident between a passenger plane and a military helicopter in Washington DC. Our thoughts and prayers are with US President Donald Trump and the American people at this difficult time,” he wrote.
Prime Minister Shehbaz also conveyed his sympathies to the families of those who lost their loved ones and prayed for the safety of the survivors.
NO SURVIVOR
All 60 passengers and four crew members on board the ill-fated American Airlines flight were confirmed dead.
Additionally, three military personnel aboard the Black Hawk helicopter also lost their lives. The wreckage of the passenger plane was recovered in three parts from the shallow waters of the Potomac River, but not all bodies have been retrieved yet.
