A father who lost his wife and 12-year-old daughter in the devastating American Airlines crash has revealed what made him think something was wrong.
Shortly before 9pm on Wednesday (January 29), a PSA Airlines aircraft, which is owned by American Airlines, collided mid-air with a Black Hawk US Army helicopter.
Flight 5342 was approaching Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington D.C in preparation to land when disaster struck.
The wreckages of both the plane – which 60 passengers had boarded along with four crew members – and the chopper plummeted into the Potomac River.
A ‘recovery’ mission is still ongoing, with the 64 people onboard the commercial aircraft and three on the helicopter all believed to be dead.
Among the victims are a man’s wife and his 12-year-old daughter, who survived cancer earlier on in life.
Andy Beyer has spoken with ABC News after losing daughter Brielle and his wife Justyna, 42, as they were heading back to the capital after being part of the US Figure Skating National Development Camp.
Justyna and Brielle were on the American Airlines flight (GoFundMe)
Discussing his daughter, who faced cancer as a baby, Beyer said: “She was just such a fighter in everything she did. She just lived life to the fullest with everything.
“She was so proud of herself in figure skating for the progress she had made… Making that team was one of her life goals. And she achieved it. And she was just so, so proud of herself.”
Beyer was heading to the airport with the couple’s 6-year-old son to pick up his wife and daughter when he realized something wasn’t right.
“When it was time for the plane to land, they hadn’t landed [and] we couldn’t get text messages through,” he explained.
Seeing all the emergency services added further to the worry and it was an air traffic controller friend who confirmed the crash.
Andy Beyer has been speaking after losing his wife and daughter (ABC News)
Beyer added to ABC News: “I didn’t have a lot of hope unfortunately, we had a good cry about it right then and there and then we had to go in with the family waiting room and everything before we, hours later, got any official word of what had fully happened.”
A GoFundMe has been set up by a ‘friend of the Beyer family’ to help support them during this difficult time.
“In a tragic turn of events, we are heartbroken to share the devastating loss of 12-year-old Brielle and her beloved mother, Justyna, who both tragically died in the recent Washington, DC, plane crash,” the GoFundMe states.
“Their absence leaves an irreplaceable void in the hearts of family and friends, and we are reaching out to our community for support during this incredibly difficult time.”
There’s having a bad hair day, and then there’s this.
Last Monday (19 August), Eugenio Ernesto Hernandez-Garnie, 27, boarded a flight from Miami to Las Vegas with his partner Yusleydis Blanca Loyola, 32.
Trouble commenced as the couple boarded the plane when crew members noticed that Hernandez-Garnier was bleeding from his head and had a ‘bloody bandage’ around his wound, Local 10 reports.
Miami-Dade police explained in a press release how Hernandez-Garnier was asked by the flight attendants to clean up the blood and replace his bandages.
The man told them, however, that he did not have any clean bandages.
The couple were arrested. (Miami-Dade Corrections & Rehabilitation)
After that initial interaction, the crew asked the passenger ‘multiple times’ to get off the plane due to concerns about ‘body fluid contamination’ caused by a hair transplant as well as his general health.
Hernandez-Garnier and Loyola allegedly refused to disembark the plane at this point, with them reportedly saying: “If they could not fly, no one else can either.”
The couple were repeatedly warned they would be arrested for ‘trespassing’, according to the police, but they both decided to stay on the plane nonetheless.
“After a brief moment of resisting to be handcuffed, they were subsequently placed under arrest,” the police report states.
Officials went on to state that because the couple refused to leave the plane, every passenger on board was forced to return to the terminal.
Once they had all boarded again, the flight was delayed.
After their arrest, the couple were taken to the Jackson West Medical Centre in Florida, where Hernandez-Garnier’s was examined.
They were later taken to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center for questioning.
The hair transplant didn’t go well. ( Miami-Dade Corrections & Rehabilitation)
Hernandez-Garnier and Loyola are now facing charges of trespassing after a warning and resisting an officer without violence.
American Airlines has since confirmed the incident, stating the late Monday night flight did not take to the skies until early on Tuesday (20 August) morning.
In a statement provided to The Independent, a spokesperson for the airline said: “During boarding of American Airlines flight 1858 on Aug. 19 with service from Miami (MIA) to Las Vegas (LAS), two customers became disruptive and were non-compliant with crew member instructions.
“Law enforcement responded and removed both customers from the aircraft.
“We thank our crew members for their professionalism and apologise to our customers for the inconvenience.”
The LADbible Group has previously reached out to both American Airlines and Miami-Dade Police for further comment.
Featured Image Credit: Miami-Dade Corrrections & Rehabilitation/Daniel Garrido via Getty
