The Potomac River mid-air collision, on January 29, claimed the lives of 67 people. An American Airlines aircraft carrying 60 passengers and 4 crew members collided with a military helicopter with three personnel. People are still reeling from the loss caused by the fatal accident. More discoveries are being made about the people who died in the plane crash. Among them were top figure skaters from Russia and the US, a young pilot, and a lawyer who graduated from Harvard a few years ago.
Kiah Duggins, a civil rights attorney, was among the 60 passengers on board American Eagle Flight 5342 on the fateful night. She as returning to Washington, D.C., after visiting her mother in Wichita, Kansas.
As per Irish Star, Duggins interned for former first lady Michelle Obama in 2016. She joined her ‘Let Girls Learn’ initiative, a government program working towards the education of girls.
After the plane crash, her alma mater, Harvard Law School wrote a remembrance piece on its official website. In the Memoriam section, HLS wrote, “Kiah was all light.”
Graduating from HLS in 2021, Duggins was working as a civil rights attorney. She had recently joined a non-profit organization that is dedicated to challenging systematic injustice.
Interim Harvard Law School Dean John Goldberg said, “As a student and lawyer, Kiah was known for her boundless enthusiasm for advancing justice for the most vulnerable, and for building community.”
“What was perhaps most remarkable about Kiah was not what she did, but how she did it. Even up against the most entrenched challenges, Kiah radiated optimism, kindness, and empathy that inspired so many to work alongside her. As one of her classmates has written, ‘She was the best of us’,” wrote one of her classmates as per the Memoriam.
Duggins used to take workshops at Harvard Law School and had plans to continue her work as an educator and mentor this coming fall.
“Duggins is gone too soon. She was a fearless civil rights advocate with a passion for service and a commitment to advancing the equal dignity and treatment of Black people. Her efforts have already shaped this nation for the better. We sit today in grief and longing, imagining what more Duggins would have done for others and what she would have accomplished had her life not been cut short,” wrote Harvard Black Law Students Association on Instagram.
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Though Michelle Obama hasn’t commented on Kiah Duggins’ death, she reposted her husband, Barack Obama‘s tweet in which he expressed his grief and condolences.
“Our hearts break for the families who lost loved ones in the tragic plane and helicopter crash at DCA. Michelle and I send our prayers and condolences to everyone who is mourning today, and we’re grateful to the first responders who are doing everything they can to help under extremely difficult circumstances,” reads the tweet from Obamas.
Our hearts break for the families who lost loved ones in the tragic plane and helicopter crash at DCA. Michelle and I send our prayers and condolences to everyone who is mourning today, and we’re grateful to the first responders who are doing everything they can to help under…
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 30, 2025
Meanwhile, the newly elected president, Donald Trump pointed fingers at Democrats and went on to blame diversity hiring for the plane crash. A day after the plane crash, he said in the press conference, “I put safety first. Obama, Biden, and the Democrats put policy first, and they put politics at a level that nobody’s ever seen. They actually came out with a directive: ‘too white.’ And we want the people that are competent.”
Trump: “When I left office and Biden took over, he changed them back to lower than ever before. I put safety first. Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first. And they put politics at a level that nobody has ever seen, because this was the lowest level. Their policy was… pic.twitter.com/oxnMivhwEX
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 30, 2025
When he was questioned if he was actually blaming diversity hiring for the crash, he conveniently said, “It just could have been.” The investigation is underway to know what caused the crash.