Debris from the wreckage of the collision between American Eagle flight 5342 and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter is removed from the Potomac River Feb. 4.
The bodies of all 67 victims of the Jan. 29 plane crash along the Potomac River have now been recovered. Among those were Alexandria residents 12-year-old Olivia Eve Ter and her mother Olesya Taylor.
Taylor, a pediatrician in her home country of Ukraine, had texted her husband Andrew Ter just one minute before the fatal crash between American Eagle flight 5342 and an Army Black Hawk helicopter. She leaves behind her husband, mother Olga and daughter Anne Valerie.
“The pain of this loss is profound, especially for Anne Valerie, who now faces a world without her mother and sister,” said Alla Levin, who has organized a GoFundMe for the family. “I also want to acknowledge Olesya’s
Alexandria resident Olesya Taylor, right, shown with her husband Andrew Ter, was among those killed in the Jan. 29 collision between an American Eagle airliner and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter.
The Unified Command said on Wednesday that the bodies of all 67 passengers killed in the crash have been recovered and identified. “This marks a significant step in bringing closure to the families and the community,” the Unified Command said in a news release.
Among the emergency personnel responding to the scene were 30-40 first responders from the Alexandria Fire Department. Fairfax County Fire and Rescue sent 22 units/pieces of apparatus and 68 personnel. The Salvation Army, headquartered in Alexandria, was on site as well as City Cruises, operators of the Alexandria Water Taxi, providing support for the rescue and recovery operation.
“We are deeply grateful for the people who risked their lives last night on a moment’s notice, and spent the whole night on the river in the ice and the wind, serving us,” said U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, who has opposed the expansion of flights at DCA.
“Through the NTSB investigation we’ve got to make sure that at the federal level – and with the support of Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. – we’re doing everything we can to make sure that this does not happen again.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expects to remove all major parts of the American Airlines plane by Thursday. Operations will then shift to removing the remaining debris from a field which extends along the Alexandria waterfront to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.
Beyer, whose district includes Reagan National Airport, held a candlelight vigil Wednesday evening at Rivergate City Park in Alexandria.
"As our community remains deeply saddened by this tragedy, this candlelight vigil will allow us to come together in remembrance of the lives we lost and offer our collective support to the families, friends, and loved ones directly impacted," Beyer said in a message to constituents.
As recently as 2024, Beyer and other regional elected officials opposed the FAA reauthorization of additional flights into DCA.
"National is home to the busiest runway in America,” Beyer said at the time. “The airport is designed to serve 15 million passengers annually. Last year, it served 24 million. That is 9 million passengers, or 60 percent, over capacity. Any additional flights that are added to DCA will worsen delays, exacerbate pilot and flight crew exhaustion, and risk the safety of flights in and out of National Airport. Safety, not convenience, must come first."
As far back as 1991, when the airport marked its 50th anniversary, former Alexandria Mayor Charles Beatley also indicated concern about the expansion of air traffic in the region.
"It's a very substandard airport for the sophisticated and even medium-size jet," said Beatley, a retired airline pilot who flew into National for 23 years starting in 1943. "Still all hazards are relative.”
Olivia Eve Ter was a rising star in the figure skating community. She was a group of skaters competing in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and development camp in Wichita, where the American Eagle flight originated. Ter earned silver and gold at her two events this season before finishing fourth in the juvenile girls division at the 2025 Eastern Sectional Singles Final to receive an invitation to National Development Camp.
As recovery operations continue, the Unified Command is asking anyone with information about the Potomac and Anacostia rivers recovery operation to call 911 and to not touch or remove anything.