
Among the 64 passengers on board American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided mid-air near Reagan National Airport with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers on Jan. 29, were Kiah Duggins and Danasia Elder.
Duggins, 30, was a former Miss Kansas civil rights attorney and soon-to-be law professor at Howard University. Elder, 34, was a devoted mother, wife and flight attendant from Charlotte, NC. There were no reported survivors.
As their families and communities across the country grieve, tributes continue to pour in—each one a testament to the lives they touched. From Harvard Law and Howard University honoring Duggins’ legal brilliance to heartfelt messages celebrating Elder’s described warmth and dedication, they are being remembered in powerful ways.
Duggins was flying back to Washington, D.C., where she worked as an attorney for the Civil Rights Corps, after spending time in Wichita, Kansas, supporting her mother through a surgical procedure.
“We are coming to terms with the grief associated with the loss of our beautiful and accomplished firstborn. Please respect our family’s privacy at this time,” her father, Maurice Duggins, told NPR affiliate KMUW.
Described as a brilliant legal mind, mentor and champion for justice, Duggins dedicated her career to fighting unconstitutional policing and unjust bail practices across Tennessee, Texas and Washington, D.C. At the Civil Rights Corps, she worked on the front lines of the movement to dismantle systemic injustices.

This fall, she was set to begin a new chapter as a law professor at Howard University, where she aimed to continue shaping the next generation of Black lawyers.
At Harvard Law School, Duggins made a lasting impact as president of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, leading critical efforts to protect families from eviction during the height of the pandemic. The institution honored her with a moving tribute: “Kiah led us all with her grace, her brilliance and her wonderful laugh. She always treated others with deep kindness and respect, but she was not afraid to make tough decisions or to tackle difficult problems. Kiah was beloved by her classmates, her teachers and her clients alike,” wrote Eloise Lawrence, Acting Faculty Director at Harvard Legal Aid Bureau.
Howard University also acknowledged her influence and mourned Duggins. “It is with profound sadness that the Howard University community and the Howard University School of Law have learned of the passing of Professor Kiah Duggins, who was among those lost in the mid-air plane collision at Reagan National Airport,” University President Ben Vinson III, PhD wrote in a social media post.
Beyond her legal career, Duggins was a force in the pageant world, twice competing in the Miss Kansas competition and earning recognition for her poise and intellect. “Kiah was more than a scholar and activist—she was a beloved sister-friend, a source of inspiration, and a beacon of grace and integrity. She made you want to be smarter, kinder, and bolder,” wrote Aisha Duggins in a GoFundMe campaign to support causes dear to Kiah’s heart.
From her time as a White House policy intern under the Obama administration to her advocacy in the courtroom, Duggins’ legacy is one of service, brilliance and unwavering commitment to justice.
For Elder, becoming a flight attendant wasn’t just a job—it was the realization of a dream she worked tirelessly to achieve. A native of Charlotte, she trained diligently to enter the aviation industry, earning the admiration of her colleagues for her warmth and unwavering commitment. “Danasia was very dedicated to being a flight attendant,” the classmate, who wished to remain anonymous, told Charlotte-based NBC affiliate WCNC. They added, “She loved her family tremendously, and she would just light up whenever she spoke about them.” Elder’s cousin Carolyn Edwards also shared with NBC News that the Jan. 29 flight was meant to be her last before starting a new role at American Airlines.
Described as a woman of deep faith and love for her family, Elder married her husband on Nov. 1, 2021, and together, they have two children, Kayden and Dallas. Though her work often took her far from home, her devotion to them never faltered. Whether comforting passengers mid-flight or spending time with her children, Elder was deeply cherished. “She was a great wife, a great parent, a great friend,” her brother-in-law, Brandon Payne, told NBC 5 Chicago. “She was very bright, very smart. She was an entrepreneur. This flight attendant thing was kind of like one of her dreams she wanted to do.”

Other passengers aboard the American Airlines flight were members of the U.S. figure skating community, including young athletes with dreams of reaching the Olympics—and their parents, who had supported them by attending events across the country, according to The Washington Post. The tragedy occurred just days after the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas, where the American Airlines flight had originated.
NBC 5 Chicago reported that the three soldiers aboard the Black Hawk helicopter were on a routine night proficiency training flight. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the crew “fairly experienced.” According to a government report released on Friday, Jan. 31, air traffic control staffing levels at the time were “not normal.”