Flight from Wichita Collides with Military Helicopter Near Reagan National Airport
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KMUW/NPR/CNN/AP) – An American Airlines flight from Wichita crashed into the Potomac River Wednesday night after a mid-air collision. By early Thursday morning, officials said there were no survivors, turning the rescue mission into a recovery operation. Dozens of bodies have been recovered so far. More than 60 people may have been killed.
Then commuter passenger plane, American Eagle Flight 5342, collided with a helicopter while on approach to a runway at Reagan National Airport. KMUW reports that the flight left Eisenhower National Airport in Wichita at about 5:30 pm.
Kansas Senator Roger Marshall wrote on the social media platform X that his staff was "in contact with authorities working to get answers.” Kansas Senator Jerry Moran also issued a statement on X.
The Federal Aviation Administration identified the plane as a Bombardier CRJ-700 regional aircraft, and said the helicopter was an Army Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk, a military aircraft. American Airlines issued a statement saying 60 passengers were aboard the passenger plane, along with four crew members. The incident took place over the Potomac River.
CNN reports that American Airlines has set up a toll-free hotline for family members and loved ones of those aboard Flight 5342: it is 800-679-8215. Additional numbers are available for those calling outside the United States, and are listed at news.aa.com.
Governor Laura Kelly on Thursday ordered flags throughout the State of Kansas to be flown at half-staff immediately until sundown on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in honor of those who lost their lives in the crash.
This is a developing story. Visit KMUW in Wichita or NPR's coverage for the latest information.
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Wichita Residents Gather for Prayer Service at City Hall in Wake of Plane Crash
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – Hundreds of Wichita residents gathered Thursday to pray for the victims and others affected by the crash of American Airlines Flight 5342 in Washington, D.C. The Kansas News Service reports that inside Wichita City Hall, Rabbi Shmulik Greenberg delivered a Jewish prayer, as one of several religious leaders who tried to offer comfort to those grieving a tragedy that’s still unfolding. Ben Sauceda with the Wichita Aviation Museum distributed Wichita flag pins to those attending the prayer service. He says he felt compelled to gather with colleagues and neighbors. “To be out here and try to support our community however, through this time that we’re just trying to make sense of what’s happening,” he explained. Wichita leaders say it will take time to realize the full impact of Wednesday night’s crash. In the meantime, they urged patience and unity.
Wichita Civil Rights Attorney Among Victims of Deadly Plane Crash
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – A Wichita native who achieved her dream of becoming a civil rights attorney was among the victims who died aboard American Airlines Flight 5342. The Kansas News Service reports that Kiah Duggins graduated from the International Baccalaureate program at Wichita East High and went on to Wichita State and Harvard Law School. She worked as a civil rights attorney for the Civil Rights Corps in Washington, D.C. Friends describe her as a high-achieving, friendly and caring person who loved to travel. She recently celebrated her 30th birthday by sharing a trip with her mother, who was celebrating her 60th. Annie Montgomery, a minister at Tabernacle Bible Church in Wichita, says Kiah was a bright star. "She was just an absolutely beautiful person. I don't even know any other way to express it," she added. Montgomery says Duggins was returning home to D.C. Wednesday after spending time with her mother during a medical procedure.
Wichita Mourns Along with Ice Skating Community
WICHITA, Kan. (KMUW) – Wichita recently hosted athletes for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and the National Development Camp. Now the city is mourning with that community as skaters were among those killed in Wednesday's plane crash. KMUW reports that more than 150 young figure skaters came to Wichita to continue their training. As the Championships ended last week, they spent three days at the Wichita Ice Arena working with coaches. The camp ended Wednesday. Now two skaters, two coaches and two family members from the Skating Club of Boston have been identified as victims of the crash in Washington, D.C. Susie Santo is with Visit Wichita. She says after working with U.S. Figure Skating, Wichita is feeling the losses deeply. “Working with them for the last year, they feel like family…our heart is breaking today for that organization and all the families, not only of figure skating, again the community who lost loved ones and friends. It’s just a tough day," Sisto said. U.S. Figure Skating says it will release more information when available.
Skating Club of Boston Hit Hard by Plane Crash
UNDATED (KMUW) – The Skating Club of Boston sent 12 figure skaters to Wichita to train to be tomorrow’s top athletes. KMUW reports that the club is now mourning the loss of six people killed in plane crash in Washington D.C. Wednesday. Doug Zeghibe, the CEO of the Skating Club of Boston, said “...these kids and their parents — they’re here at our facility in Norwood, six, sometimes seven days a week. It’s a close, tight bond and I think for all of us — we have lost family." The club lost two skaters, their mothers and two coaches. The skaters were part of a development camp in Wichita. It's the second major loss for the club. Several of its members died in a 1961 plane crash that killed the U.S. figure skating team.
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CDC, State and Local Officials Respond to Kansas TB Outbreak
UNDATED (KNS) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there have been at least two other tuberculosis outbreaks in the country in the past decade that were bigger than the one that’s currently active in Kansas. But state and local health officials say the Kansas outbreak is still significant. Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection and prevention at the University of Kansas Health System, told the Kansas News Service that health officials are making good headway on identifying and treating cases. “In general, I really want to calm the public. We are not as concerned about this for the general public,” he said. A CDC spokesperson said four federal workers are on the ground in Kansas assisting local health officials with the outbreak response.
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KPR Community Spotlight Shines on SENT, Inc. - a Nonprofit in Topeka
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - This month, the KPR Community Spotlight shines on SENT, Inc. in Topeka. SENT is an acronym that stands for Strengthening and Equipping Neighborhoods Together. At its core, SENT tries to improve three areas of life in Shawnee County: education, health and housing. The non-profit is headquartered inside a former school in the Hi Crest neighborhood of southeast Topeka. "When we first started, Hi Crest was a mental health desert, a food desert, a transportation desert, a child care desert, an affordable housing desert - all those different things," said Jonathan Sublet, the organization's founder and executive director. But things are changing for the better, thanks to SENT's food pantry, wellness center, addiction treatment and housing resources. (Learn more.)
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Kansas House Gives Initial Approval to Gender-Affirming Care Ban for Minors
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – The Kansas House gave initial approval Thursday for a bill to ban gender-affirming care for minors. The Kansas News Service reports that Democrats introduced amendment after amendment to limit the bill’s scope. They argued it would not just prohibit surgeries for trans children, but could also hold teachers and caregivers liable for using a child’s preferred pronouns. All those proposals failed. Votes mostly followed party lines. Democratic Representative Susan Ruiz lamented that the bill came up so early in the session. “People are hurting because of property taxes...yet this is the first bill the legislature chose to hear and debate. This is just unbelievable,” Ruiz added. Supporters of the bill say it’s to prevent children from undergoing treatments they cannot easily reverse.
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Legislature Considering Bill to Accelerate Court Hearing Deadlines for Kids in State Custody
UNDATED (KNS) – Kansas lawmakers are considering a bill that would speed up the deadline for court hearings about children in the state’s custody. The Kansas News Service reports that the bill could help reduce the amount of time children are in foster care. Currently state law requires a permanency hearing every 12 months for a child in foster care. The bill would move up the date to every nine months. A permanency hearing reviews efforts to find a permanent living situation for foster children. That could mean reunification with the biological family or adoption. Tanya Keys of the Department for Children and Families says the state wants to get children out of foster care faster. “The purpose of the bill is to reduce the time that a child is separated from their family,” she added. Some lawmakers question whether the state’s court system would be able to accommodate the faster schedule. They say they’ll reach out to court officials to respond.
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Pro-Life Leaders Rally at Kansas Statehouse During March for Life
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – Hundreds of pro-life demonstrators rallied at the Kansas Statehouse Wednesday for the annual March for Life. While abortion remains legal in Kansas, Republican lawmakers promised to continue pushing for more restrictions. Lawmakers denounced a sharp rise in abortions in Kansas since 2022, when a Supreme Court decision allowed many nearby states to ban abortion.
Protesters included Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson of Andover, who said “...we’re becoming the center of abortion in the Midwest. We did more abortions of Texas citizens than we did total abortions just a few years ago.” Kansas clinics performed nearly 20,000 abortions in 2023, more than ever before in the state’s recorded history.
Lobbyists at the rally called for expanding funding for pregnancy crisis centers and making it easier for women to sue abortion pill makers for injuries. Jeanne Gawdun, with Kansans for Life, said her group wants to "...improve the reporting of abortion complications and empower women to seek justice for abortion injuries, including giving them opportunities to sue the abortion industry and Big Pharma.” Those proposed policies are part of a nationwide effort by anti-abortion groups to target access to abortion pills, which have made it harder for states to enforce abortion bans.
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National Assessment Test Scores Show Declines for Kansas Students in Reading and Math
UNDATED (KNS) – New test scores released Wednesday show continued declines for Kansas students in both reading and math. The Kansas News Service reports that the National Assessment of Educational Progress tested a sample of fourth- and eighth-grade students last spring. Average scores were down in most areas nationwide, continuing a slide that started well before the COVID pandemic. Martin West with the National Assessment Governing Board says the results are sobering because most scores are at or below where they were 30 years ago. “We might be in a moment in American education where we need to think, ‘Let’s look backward at what we might have been doing at that time,’ and find out if there are any lessons from the past rather than the next new thing,” he said. Only 29% of Kansas fourth-graders scored at or above proficient in reading last year, down from 34% in 1998.
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Attorney General Kris Kobach Joins Multi-State Effort to Change Census Count Policy
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (The Beacon) – Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach wants to stop counting noncitizens in the U.S. Census. Opponents say that’s a bad idea that will hurt communities. The Beacon reports that Kansas is suing the federal government because the U.S. Census counts noncitizens. That could cost the state an electoral college vote and congressional representation in 2030. But Xan Wedel with the University of Kansas notes the lawsuit could ultimately strip away resources from communities. Census population data is used to allocate federal funds for things like school lunches, water, sewage and highway planning programs. Cities get less money if the population declines. “Those are probably under the radar, and you don't really realize that your community might be receiving funding from these federal programs that are still based on census data,” Wedel clarified. Kansas, Ohio, West Virginia and Louisiana have all signed onto the lawsuit.
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KBI Confirms Cause of Death for Former Police Detective Roger Golubski
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCUR) – The Kansas Bureau of Investigation confirmed Tuesday that former Kansas City, Kansas, Police Detective Roger Golubski died by suicide the day his federal trial was set to begin. KCUR reports that the KBI’s final report says Golubski died by a single gunshot wound to the temple at his Edwardsville home. He used a stolen handgun, and no foul play is suspected. The disgraced detective died on December 2nd, at the hour his federal trial was to begin on charges of violating several women’s civil rights through rape, kidnapping and sexual assault. Agents couldn’t determine just where Golubski got the weapon, but traced it back to a Kansas City, Missouri, woman who reported the gun was stolen in 2022.
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Potential Cut to School Meals Would Affect 900,000 Kids Across Midwest and Great Plains
UNDATED (HPM) – A possible cut in funding for school meals would leave more than 900,000 children without free breakfast and lunch in the Midwest and Great Plains. Harvest Public Media reports that a school meal program is on a list of potential cuts for an upcoming budget bill in Washington, D.C. The program is called the Community Eligibility Provision. It allows school districts with a high concentration of students in poverty to give all of their kids free meals. Hancock Place School District in St. Louis uses the program but wouldn’t be eligible under the proposed cut. Superintendent Kevin Carl is calling on lawmakers to find savings elsewhere. “When students are fed and they're healthy and they're well, then they're going to be best positioned to be successful with their academics and really do well at school and thrive,” Carl said. The proposal would cut $3 billion dollars from the program across the country.
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Two Children Found Dead in Eastern Kansas Lake, Trapped Under the Ice
LINN COUNTY, Kan. (KMBC) — Family and friends are mourning the loss of two children, found dead, trapped under the ice of a frozen lake. The Linn County Sheriff's Office responded to the Lake Chaparral community in rural Linn County around 8 pm Monday after reports that two children were missing. Local firefighters joined in the search. KMBC TV reports that ultimately, it was an aerial drone that located the children who had become trapped under the ice. They were already deceased. The Overland Park Fire Department's Dive Team helped recover their bodies.
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Kansas Senate Okays Bill to Eliminate a Portion of the Property Tax
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – The Kansas Senate on Tuesday approved a Republican-led bill aimed at cutting taxes for property owners. The Kansas News Service reports that most property taxes in Kansas go to schools, but a small portion helps the state construct and maintain certain buildings. The bill passed by the Senate would eliminate that portion. Costs would instead be covered by other state funds. Democratic Senator Patrick Schmidt supported the bill, but says it’s not enough on its own to help homeowners. “In 2024 in Kansas, our voters sent us here for real property tax relief,” he explained. Democratic Governor Laura Kelly says she doesn’t want to pass tax cuts this session. But lawmakers might not need her signature to pass this bill, as it earned bipartisan support in the Senate.
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Kansas Legislature Revisits Bill Banning Gender-Affirming Health Care for Children
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – Kansas lawmakers are again considering legislation that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender children under the age of 18. The Kansas News Service reports that Republicans narrowly failed to make a similar bill into law last year. If the bill becomes law, Kansas doctors could no longer prescribe puberty blockers, hormone therapy and other treatments to teens with gender dysphoria. Proponents of the bill say those treatments are experimental and dangerous. Opponents say they’re a lifeline for transgender teens, and reduce the risk of suicide.
D.C. Hiegert is with the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas. “This bill likely violates constitutional rights of Kansas children, parents, therapists, doctors and teachers, and poses an unprecedented threat to Kansas families by banning the only evidence based health care options available for youth experiencing gender dysphoria,” Hiegert says. The U.S. Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of a similar law in Tennessee.
Proponents of the ban, like Jay Richards of the Heritage Foundation, say puberty blockers, hormone therapy and sex change surgeries are dangerous, especially for children. “There's no reliable scientific evidence that these treatments improve the long term health of these minors, let alone that the benefits outweigh the many risks. The harms of these interventions are obvious," he said.
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Kansas Legislature Considers Bill Allowing Inspections of Subsidized Rental Housing
WICHITA, Kan. (KMUW) – A new bill in the Kansas statehouse would permit cities to periodically inspect government-subsidized rental housing, which is currently not allowed. KMUW reports that Kansas passed a law in 2016 precluding cities and counties from requiring regular interior housing inspections. But the city of Topeka, which requested the bill, is seeking to change that for units that receive government funding like Section 8 rental assistance. Spencer Duncan is a Topeka city council member. He says the city's push for change came after a Topeka apartment complex stopped receiving federal rental assistance due to health and safety issues. "This is a pro-resident bill, and it's really targeted at those bad landlords who are taking government money and then not keeping up their promise and their end of the bargain," Duncan said. The bill does not require municipalities to do more inspections of subsidized units. But it allows cities in Kansas to increase enforcement if they wish.
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City Plans Parade, but No Rally, if Kansas City Chiefs Win Super Bowl
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCUR) – Kansas City will not hold a rally if the Chiefs win the Super Bowl. KCUR reports that Kansas City will host a parade like they’ve done in years past if they beat the Philadelphia Eagles, but they will not host a rally at Union Station, a source confirmed to KCUR. The high insurance cost for large gatherings was a factor in the decision. At least 24 people were injured and local DJ Lisa Lopez-Galvan died at a mass shooting at the rally celebrating the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win last year. This year, the team and their families, as well as Mayor Quinton Lucas and Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe, will celebrate at an exclusive gathering at Arrowhead Stadium. Then, the team will begin its parade through the city. The city has plans for entertainment throughout the route for fans to enjoy while they wait to see the team.
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This summary of area news is curated by KPR news staffers. Our headlines are generally published by 10 am weekdays and are updated through 7 pm. This ad-free news summary is made possible by KPR members. Become one today. And follow KPR News on X (formerly Twitter).