Wichita Mayor Lily Wu said that the city is in mourning after a plane that took off from Wichita crashed in Washington, D.C., last night and left no survivors.
The American Eagle passenger jet was carrying 64 people and collided with a military helicopter carrying three soldiers near Reagan National Airport. Officials there said Thursday morning that 27 bodies have been recovered thus far.
“We have been told that there are no survivors,” Wu said during a news conference at City Hall, her voice thick with emotion. “We mourn with all those who have been impacted. This is a terrible tragedy that will unite those in Washington, D.C., and Wichita, Kansas, forever.”
Wu said Thursday morning that she does not yet know how many Wichitans were on the flight. She said that once that information becomes available, families will be contacted before it is made public.
U.S. Representative Ron Estes said the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration and American Airlines are all working to notify families.
During a community prayer service at Wichita City Hall on Thursday, religious leaders urged residents to grieve together and comfort their neighbors during a time of uncertainty.
"Do you know the world is watching Wichita, Kansas?" said the Rev. Ben Staley of Chapel Hill United Methodist Church. "Let us be a light of hope, showing the love of Christ in ways that draw us to one another, in ways that help us to recognize that we don't know what's coming next."
The Rev. Pamela Hughes Mason, acting president of the Greater Wichita Ministerial League, held the mayor's hands as they prayed together before the service.
"We don't know what the day will bring," she said. "But we do know that when we come together as one, there is power in prayer, power in community."
Pastor Albert Peredes of Praise Chapel Wichita urged unity among residents of all faiths and backgrounds.
"We cry out as a community and as a country for your Holy Spirit to shine like never before," Peredes said. "Because together we can, and divided we fall."
Media outlets are reporting that several members of the skating community, who were in Wichita recently for the national championships, were aboard the plane that crashed. That includes former gold medalists Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the pairs title at the 1994 world championships in Chiba, Japan, according to Russian State media.
City officials would not confirm the reports.
“Right now, we’re just waiting for more information from U.S. Figure Skating that we can release, but right now, we’re just hoping and praying,” Wu said.
Wu said one family of a passenger on the plane that crashed arrived at the airport last night. The city has a care team available at the airport for those impacted.
Family members and friends with loved ones aboard can call American Airlines at 800-679-8215. The city of Wichita said they can also reach the Wichita Airport Authority and the local care team at 316-946-4700.
An investigation into the crash by the National Transportation Safety Board is underway. Estes said that he’s working to stay abreast of the effort but it may move slowly.
“I know that's that's frustrating for all of us to actually wait, not have the answers at our fingertips,” Estes said.
He added that the U.S. has the “safest skies in any country in the world.”
“Obviously, we want to make sure that there aren't incidents like this ever in the country, so we want to make sure that we put in procedures that work to make sure that we do prevent that,” Estes said.
