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Victims of midair aircraft collision honored at Arlington mass

Victims of midair aircraft collision honored at Arlington mass

Most everyone in the D.C. area is still in shock over the midair collection between a military Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines Flight 5342 near Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night.

Authorities say all 64 people on board the flight from Kansas and the three soldiers in the Army helicopter are feared to be dead.

The Catholic Diocese of Arlington honored the lives of the 67 victims at its noon mass on Thursday at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More.

Bishop Michael Burbidge, who heads the Arlington diocese, greeted those in attendance at the church on Cathedral Lane and started the homily by speaking about the tragedy.

“In light of the horrific tragedy, accident, collision last night, claiming so many lives, there’s a tendency to feel helpless, but we’re not. We are able to gather here today in faith and to entrust all those who have died to God’s loving embrace, to ask the Lord to bless and strengthen and console their family members and friends and to watch over all the first responders who are always there to help and protect others,” Burbidge said.

The bishop told the congregation that tragedies like the one on Wednesday night are a reminder of how life is fragile.

“Each new day is a gift. Each moment we have with loved ones is a gift,” Burbidge said. “Each day to do good for others is a gift, and so perhaps the most powerful way we can honor those who lost their lives is to make sure we never take these gifts for granted.”

Burbidge believes there is a way to honor the victims’ memory in a special way.

“He calls us to let our light shine before others, so that through our example and good deeds, we may radiate his presence to all those we meet and each and every day, perhaps brighten the life of at least one other person,” he said.

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Jimmy Alexander

Jimmy Alexander has been a part of the D.C. media scene as a reporter for DC News Now and a long-standing voice on the Jack Diamond Morning Show. Now, Alexander brings those years spent interviewing newsmakers like President Bill Clinton, Paul McCartney and Sean Connery, to the WTOP Newsroom.

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